New Horizons
by Hotaru
Summary: Leon finally reunites with Claire after the Umbrella incidents, only to find out that she's involved with Steve. Soon after, Leon rescues Claire from a beating, and her life finally gets back in order.
1. New Horizons 1

New Horizons, I

By: Hotaru

Notes: Hi Christine, The best RE writer EVER!!!!!!

Warnings: Steve bashing, abuse, strong language, RE: Code Veronica spoilers

Stepping into the poorly-lit diner, Leon Kennedy surveyed the patrons. He was supposed to meet Claire and "Steve" there that night. Taking a table in the back, Leon waited and looked around some more. 

A young man seemed to be eyeing him while drinking a beer. In fact, the man's eyes never left Leon, when he eyed the waitress who took his order for another beer. Glancing at his watch, Leon sighed deeply. A young woman walked over to the man at the table and turned to see where his finger was pointing. 

"Leon?" The woman asked, walking towards the him. "Claire?" Leon asked incredously, standing up from the table. "Oh my god, it _is you!" Claire exclaimed, running over to hug her long-lost friend. "It's so great to see you, Claire. You look..great." Leon said, releasing his arms from around Claire when he noticed this "Steve" glaring daggers at him. "Have you been waiting long?" Claire asked._

With a small shake of his head, Leon sat down, as did Claire. "Not at all. You?" He answered. "A little while. I insisted we get here early, Steve protested but I won." Claire replied with a grin. "So uh..you two are.." Leon began, fretting Claire's response. "..are…what? Married? No. Together? Yeah, I guess." The young woman replied carelessly.

"What do you mean "I guess"?" Leon asked, glancing over to see Steve with _another beer. "Well…we used to be, but I'm only still with him because of Katie." Claire explained, leaving Leon even more confused. "Don't tell me..you have a daughter?" He asked painfully. With a sigh, Claire nodded. Leon leaned back in his chair and sighed deeply. "But you don't want anything to do with the guy?" He asked._

With a small nod, Claire glanced over her shoulder to see if Steve was watching them as intently as she thought. He was. "Not a thing. But when he's not drinking, he can be a decent guy. He's just young and too careless sometimes. I think his indifference made me want to leave him in the first place. Now that we have Katie, I don't want her growing up with out a dad." She said, turning back to face her friend.

Not wanting to believe that the young, innocent woman he knew a year ago was now a mother, Leon turned the subject back to Steve. "He seems like a pretty heavy drinker. He's ordered three since I've been here. Does he ever…try and hurt you?" Leon asked lowly. "With success a few times, though I'm sad to say. I feel like such a fool to fall for such an abusive drunk." Claire replied, flopping back in her seat. 

"Claire…if he abuses you, then you've got to get out of there. I..I know you're doing it for the good of your daughter, but…it's not worth it." Leon said, leaning forward. Steve stood up from his table and walked over to where Claire and Leon were seated. "We're leaving." He ordered. Claire scoffed slightly. "But Steve, we just _got here! We haven't even got caught up yet." She said, as Steve pulled her out of her seat. _

Leon stood up defensivly. "I said we're leaving." Steve re-itterated. "Hey man, what's the problem?" Leon stepped in. Steve ignored him and pulled Claire out of the diner. Leon followed after them. "Can I give you a call sometime?" He called to Claire.

"Yeah.."

"No!"

Steve glared back at Leon before pushing Claire into the car and walking around. "If you have any sense at all, you won't talk to her again." He said snidly before climbing into the car and flying away. "Jesus.." Leon exclaimed, before walking to his own car.

~^~

Some time later, Leon called Claire in hopes that they could meet again. "Hello?" It must have been Steve who answered, so Leon replied in a gruff voice unlike his own, "Uh, sorry, wrong number." And hung up. 

Claire eyed Steve as he stared at the phone. "What's the matter?" She asked. Steve hung up the phone and turned to her. "Nothing. Probably just your old boy-toy." He replied, brushing past her. "Steve..what happened that night?" Claire asked, following him with Katie in her arms. "What do _you think?" Steve snapped, pulling off his funky weekend t-shirt. _

"Well, I don't know, or else I wouldn't be asking you, would I?" Claire said impatiently. Steve huffed deeply, pulling on a clean shirt. "I don't want you talking to him, I don't want you seeing him, understand?" He ordered. 

"Steve, he's my friend! What right do you have to forbid me from seeing my own friends?" Claire asked.

"What right? What right!? Don't talk back to me, bitch!" Steve yelled, throwing the nearest object in Claire's direction.

Ducking, and holding Katie tightly, Claire backed towards the door. "Steve, stop it. I had a life before you and I'm not going to abandon _anyone_ because you tell me to." She said slowly. Steve started towards her, so she ran into the kitchen and grabbed her keys before running out of the house. "Claire, get back here!" She heard Steve hollar, following her outside.

Claire jumped into her car and locked all the doors before quickly putting Katie in her car-seat. Steve banged on the driver door and yelled, "Get out of the car Claire, you're making a scene." Claire ignored him and turned on the engine. "Get out of the car before you regret it!" Steve hissed, banging on the window. Turning the wheel sharply, Claire backed out of their drive-way and sped away before Steve had a chance to follow.

At this point, Katie had started crying. "Dammit.." Claire spat, unsure of where to go. She reached back and held her daughter's hand and tried to calm her down. "It's okay baby, please stop crying.." She cooed, heading to a park Steve didn't know about. When she got there, she grabbed her purse and took Katie to the swings. "Please stop crying Katie." She said, pushing the swing softly. Eventually, Katie stopped crying and Claire could skim through her address/phone book to find anyone she could talk with.

"On vacation…at work..haven't seen them for years…Chris, god knows where _he is…Leon? I have his number? Thank god." Claire said, pulling out her cell phone. _

The phone rang for awhile until an answering machine began. "You have reached the home of officer Leon S. Kennedy. I'm currently occupied, but leave your name and number and I'll be sure to get back to ya." *beep* 

"Ah, Leon, it's Claire. Steve and I got into a little fight and I just need someone to stay with for awhile until he calms down. Don't call me at home, call my cell, it's on the card I gave you. Please…I…" With a sigh, Claire hung up and pushed her daughter on the swing again. 

Leon ran to the phone and picked it up in time to hear the click of Claire hanging up. "Dammit." He exclaimed, playing the message again. "Card…the card, where the hell did I put the card?" Leon asked himself, holding the towel against his waist. He searched the phone-table, the pockets of his pants and finally found it in his wallet. 

"Hello?" Claire said into her phone.

"Claire? Thank god, it's me, Leon."

"Oh…hey, I was just heading home."

"Home? But I thought you needed somewhere to stay.." 

"Yeah..I changed my mind. Thanks anyway. I gotta go, bye."

Leon stared into the phone and wondered why on Earth Claire would change her mind. Hanging up the phone, Leon dressed quickly and headed over to try and find Claire's house. He wasn't about to let her get hurt.

~^~

Claire walked into her house quietly and cautiously. It was pretty dark, only a lamp in the hallway was lit. She noticed Steve sleeping on the couch, and a few bottles of beer on the table. Claire brought Katie to her room and put her in her crib before heading into the living room. She leaned towards Steve to try and see how deep his sleep was.

It apparantly wasn't very deep, for his hand swung up to grab her neck. "Where did you go? Did you see him, you slut?!" Steve exclaimed, pushing Claire against the wall. "N-no! I took Katie to the park, that's all." She choked out, trying to remove his hand from her neck. "Lying won't help you. I _know you saw him!" Steve retorted, throwing Claire onto the couch. _

He ripped the buttons off Claire's shirt and opened her jeans. "Get the hell off me!" Claire screamed, trying to push the man off of her. "Fuck you!" Steve spat, slapping her across the face. Groaning slightly, Steve pulled Claire's pants to her ankles and started un-buckling his own pants. "Let's see how you bitch your way out of this." He sneered drunkinly. Claire tried to shove Steve off of her again, but he punched her to get her to stop struggling. "Please…"

With her vision blurred, and body weak, Claire stopped struggling and squeezed her eyes shut. At about the time Steve became a rapist, the front door burst open and someone pulled Steve to the ground. Claire removed her arms from her eyes and sat up to see her savior. Noticing that it was Leon, she tried to find a pillow to cover herself up. Unfortunatly, there was none, so she stood there, with a ripped open shirt, pulling her pants and underwear back up. Staring at the bruises covering most of Claire's body only momentarily, Leon got down to business.

"You have the right to remain silent you son of a bitch. Anything you say can and _will be used against you in the court of law…"_

TBC


	2. New Horizons 2

New Horizons, II

By: Hotaru

Notes: Sorry about the story disappearing ^_^() I guess I shoulda read the reviews more thoroughly!

~^~

"Ma'me, it's important if you tell us if there was penetration." A nurse said impatiently as Claire stared at the wall. "Yes." Claire said finally. "Did he ejaculate?" The nurse asked. Claire swung her head up and snapped, "No!"

"And you were sexually involved with your attacker prior to the incident?" The nurse continued. 

With a sigh, Claire nodded. "Just so you're aware, the police may try to make you admit that this isn't as serious as you say it is. In cases like these, often times couples just get into arguments and lie to get the other person in trouble." The nurse advised.

"No, I could tell you _the truth and I am! Just..just leave me alone now." Claire said suddenly, crossing her arms tightly. "Ms. Redfield, we need to do a rape kit, and also it will improve the chances of Mr. Burnside being charged." The nurse said._

Claire wiped the tears that were forming from her eyes and said, "Well, ask Leon. He'll tell you what he saw. And if that's not enough to convict Steve's sorry ass, then I'll just get custody of my daughter and move as far away from him as I can." The nurse finally left her alone. Crying slightly, Claire hid her face in her pillow. There was a slight knock on the door. "Go away." Claire said bluntly.

"Claire, it's me." Leon said softly. "Oh…come in..." Claire said, choking slightly. Leon opened the door and his face fell when he saw Claire there, quivering on the bed. "Hey." Claire said, laughing slightly, grabbing a tissue. "Hey…how are you feeling?" Leon asked, sitting on the bed. "Like a dope. I don't want to imagine what would have happened if you hadn't shown up…thank you so much Leon…" Claire replied.

Leon held Claire's hands and smiled. "I got worried when I called you back. I didn't know why you decided to go back home, but I don't think Steve would have been happy to see you…well, you know what I mean.." he said. 

"I keep thinking he's going to waltz in here and take me home. Like everything was okay." Claire admitted, holding the tissue tightly. "He's in jail, right now. But he keeps saying that you were seducing him and made the whole thing up. He's saying what I saw was part of your kinky game." Leon said, hating Steve more with every word he said.

"Katie…where is she?" Claire asked suddenly. "She's in the hospital day care center upstairs. They're ready to release you, whenever you're ready. But they still want you to answer some questions, and to do a rape..kit thing as soon as possible." Leon replied. Claire sighed and ran her hand through her bangs. "I..I don't like it here. Can you just take me home?" Claire asked tearfully.

With a small nod, Leon wiped the tears from Claire's face. "I won't let him hurt you anymore. You'll be safe again, okay?" He said reassuringly. Claire sighed deeply and laid her head back on her pillow. "I'm sorry I'm not the same person I used to be." She apologized.

"What do you mean?" Leon asked, perturbed.

"Back then, in Raccoon…I felt like I could take anything on. Like no monster could defeat me. And now…hah, look at me. My boyfriend's a freaking wife-beater and I stayed with him because I believed him when he said he loved me." Claire explained.

"Claire…I understand how you feel, honest. After the whole ordeal in Raccoon City, I kept my feelings hidden and it ate me from the inside out. It wasn't until I had to go to therapy that I realized that what happened there changed my life. It's hard to really have the same mentality when something like that happens to you."

"But I still feel like such a wimp. Had he been a zombie, I would have blown his brains out, but he's _human and somewhere in there are feelings. I didn't want to hurt him by leaving him because I felt that he really loved me." Claire replied._

"Human emotions are really fucked up sometimes, Claire. Your heart leads you one way, but your brain wants to go the other. And bad stuff can happen when you choose one over the other." Leon said preachfully.

Claire sighed again and put her hand on her forehead. "Yeah, I know. I wanted what was best for Katie, even though it was hurting me so much. If only Steve had been like you.." She began, before stopping suddenly. Leon was taken aback slightly. "..If Steve was more like anyone who cared about other people, things would have been different. It doesn't have anything to do with me, really." He said slowly. 

"I can't help but feel that I made a mistake by being with him in the first place, Leon. I love Katie to death, but it pains me to think that her father is a drunken-bastard…and a rapist." Claire said woefully. Leon put a comforting hand on Claire's shoulder. "We all make mistakes. And I'm sure that there's something about this guy that made you love him. The Claire I know isn't stupid. I'll leave so you can get dressed and whatnot. I'll be right outside, ok?" He said.

Claire nodded and climbed out of bed as Leon exited the room. He stood outside of the room protectively when a group of men walked over and tried to open the door. Leon put his hand in front of the door handle and said, "Can I help you?" One of the men eyed Leon and said, "We need to see Claire." 

"She's changing and doesn't want any company right now." Leon replied.

"Then why are you here?" The same man asked sarcastically.

"I'll let Claire know you stopped by..your name?"

"…Never mind. We'll come back later, stiff." 

The group walked away slowly, as Claire opened the door. "Wait a sec.." Leon said, pulling the door shut. The group turned around at the noise, and Leon played innocent. After a moment or two, they continued on their way. Once Leon felt they were gone, he knocked on the door. Claire poked her head out and asked, "What was that all about?" 

"I don't know. There was a group of guys here to see you. They wouldn't tell me who they were or why they wanted to see you so I told them you didn't want company." Leon explained. Claire nodded her head. "I could recognize that guy's voice. He's one of Steve's drinking buddy's. Thanks for not letting them in." she said. Leon smiled warmly and put his arm around Claire's shoulder. "Don't worry, I wouldn't let anything happen to you." He said comfortingly.

Claire wasn't comfortable being so close to a man after what had just happened, so she slid out from under Leon's arm and smiled slightly. "Oh, sorry. I uh..didn't realize." Leon said sheepishly. "Don't worry about it. I'm just..not myself right now." Claire replied as they headed down the hall. "So where do you live?" Claire asked as they started to go up to the hospital's day care center.

"Just some hole in the wall. You'll like it, or at least I _hope you will. Just a modest apartment really." Leon replied nervously. _

"I'm sure it'll be great. My house used to be so great…until Steve moved in." Claire said, suddenly not feeling like talking. 

"Don't worry about it Claire. He's gone now. I told you I'll protect you." Leon repeated as he knocked on the door.

A second later a woman opened it and asked, "Hello, who are you here to pick up?" Claire looked around the room and found Katie sitting near the corner playing with blocks. "There's my baby!" She announced, walking over to pick up her daughter. "I'm Claire Redfield, Katie's mother." She said, walking back over to the woman. "Alright, just sign here indicating that you picked her up. Katie's such a good little girl. She didn't make a peep the whole time!" The woman said, playing with Katie's hands.

Claire smiled and said, "Thank you very much. Have a nice day." The woman waved to Katie and smiled at Leon as they walked out of the room. "She's beautiful Claire." Leon stated. Claire smiled and replied, "Thanks. I just hope she doesn't take after Steve too much." Leon nodded and they walked back to the elevator. "So how old is she?" he asked as they headed down. "Nearly a year and a half." Claire replied, still looking at Katie. 

"Ah…I don't have a crib or anything at my place…should we stop at yours to get some of her things?" Leon asked.

"I…don't really feel up to going back there any time soon. I wouldn't want to impose upon you, but you can go if it's not too much trouble." Claire answered.

"Yeah, sure, that'd be fine. Just make up a list of what you need, and where I can find it. I can go once you two are settled." Leon said quickly.

He didn't want Claire to ever think that he wasn't more than willing to help out. After all, he had had a crush on her since the first day they met. "Thanks…really, Leon. Thanks a lot. I..don't really have any friends around here. I _used to know tons of people but well…you can guess how he felt about that." Claire replied. Leon nodded understandingly as they arrived at his car. _

"No car seat either." He said sheepishly. "That's alright, I can just hold her in my lap. We've done that before, haven't we?" Claire replied, turning her conversation towards Katie. The little girl smiled up at her mother and clapped her hands. "Aw, she's such a sweet kid." Leon remarked, heading home. Claire leaned her head against the headrest and nodded. "Thank God for that.." she said softly.

They remained quiet until they arrived at Leon's home. It had started to rain on the ride home, so Leon had to fish around in the trunk looking for an umbrella. Finding it underneath a blanket and some windshield wiper fluid, he opened it up and opened the passenger side door. "Thanks." Claire said, climbing out of the car. Leon nodded and closed the door behind her and walked towards the building he lived in. Once they were inside, he closed the umbrella and shook the rain off of it. 

"I always wanted a nice big house to live in, but I can't really afford it. Besides, people don't usually buy houses until they get married anyway." Leon said, unlocking the first door that led into the lobby of the building where the mailboxes were. "Are you looking to get married?" Claire asked innocently. Leon shrugged. "I guess so. I mean, I'd have to find someone who likes me first." He replied, checking his mailbox. 

Claire nodded weakly and followed him to the elevator. "Are you hungry at all? I haven't gone food shopping lately.." Leon said, as they stepped into his apartment. "What? Oh, sort of. I just want to be alone for awhile, so you can go with out me." Claire replied. Leon nodded and showed Claire the 'guest room'. It was an empty room with a bed and a dresser that Leon wanted to fix up for the longest time.

"I'm sorry it's so bland, but I haven't been motivated to really fix it up, you know?" Leon said. Claire nodded and put Katie on the bed. "Thanks Leon. I'll be fine here." She said, hoping he'd catch a hint and leave her alone. "Okay then. I'll be back in a little while. If anyone stops by, which I doubt they will, just don't answer the door. Feel better Claire." Leon replied, looking at the solemn woman before closing the door.

He had a feeling that something just wasn't right. Claire seemed _very depressed, more so than he felt she'd be after what had happened. _/This shit has probably been going on for a long time. She just couldn't tell anyone 'cause she had nowhere to go./_ Leon thought, as he headed out to the car. He most certainly didn't want to push it with getting Claire to talk, but it usually helps when people do. The Claire he knew was always so vibrant and cheerful. _

Now, she just sort of stared off into space, while wringing her hands together or something. She needed help.

TBC


	3. New Horizons 3

New Horizons, III

By: Hotaru

Warnings: Steve bashing, abuse, strong language, RE: Code Veronica spoilers

An asterisk (*) means to look at the end of the chapter for more information.

~^~

"Claire, I'm back!" Leon shouted into his apartment, while balancing a bag of groceries on his knee. Pulling his keys out of the door, he held them with his teeth and bumped the door shut. Placing the bags on the kitchen counter, he put all the refrigeratable items into the fridge and went to the guest room. "Claire?" He asked, knocking softly on the door.

There was no answer, so he opened the door a crack. Claire was asleep on the bed with Katie in her arms. Leon silently closed the door and went back to the kitchen. He unpacked all the groceries and put everything away before settling down in the living room for some good ol' television.

Eventually, he got bored of watching re-runs of old game shows, so he went into the kitchen to make some lunch/dinner. _/Nothing like a turkey sandwich stuffed with crisp lettuce and a hint of mayo/_ Leon thought stupidly, as he went back into the living room to eat. The guest room door opened and Claire walked out, in a slight daze. "Hey." Leon greeted, biting into his sandwich.

"Oh, hi. I didn't even see you." Claire replied, walking over to sit on the recliner. "Sorry for scaring you. Want some?" Leon asked, holding up his sandwich. "No, that's ok. I'm not really hungry." Claire said. 

"So how's Katie doing?" Leon asked.

"She's fine, sleeping. She'll wake up again in the night, then in the morning a few times to eat. I hope it won't bother you to much." Claire replied.

"I'm sure it won't be a problem."

"That's good. I guess we should probably go get some things for her from the house…" Claire said reluctantly.

Leon looked up from his meal and asked, "We? But I thought you didn't want to go back there." Claire nodded and answered, "I don't. But it's a little difficult to write down the directions. Even though I've driven there a thousand times, I can't remember what streets I go down, I just know what they look like. But anyway, I'll stay in the car." 

Chuckling slightly, Leon nodded in agreement. "I know what you mean. In high school, there weren't room numbers to me, just rooms. Like, math would be on the third floor next to the bulletin board, but not the radiator. English was right by the stairs that lead down to the college office. So, yeah, I know what you mean." He noted. Claire nodded and sighed.

There was brief silence between them, until Leon wolfed down the rest of his sandwich. "Ok, just let me get ready, and we can go, ok?" He said, tossing the t.v. remote to Claire. "Nothing's on, but you can look if you want." He continued before bringing his plate to the kitchen sink. Claire turned on the t.v. and felt something that she never had before.

_You're not watching this shit! What is this, Lifetime? Fuck that, the game's on! I bet a lot of money on my team, Claire. Go make yourself useful and get me some damn food! Steve would shout something like that every time Claire turned on the t.v. _

Despite living in the same area for years, Claire had no idea which channels were which. So, she chose to channel surf instead.

Pulling his shoes on, Leon grabbed his keys and went into the living room. "Hey, you ready..? Oh, if you're watching something, we can go later." He said. Claire looked away from the t.v. and automatically said, "No, it's nothing." And stood up. Leon shrugged and Claire went to get Katie. "It looks like it's going to rain again soon." Leon remarked once they were outside, and noticed the rain had stopped.

"Yeah, it does. Thank God. Rain usually puts Katie right to sleep, as long as there's no thunder or lighting." Claire replied, climbing into Leon's car. Leon turned the car on and asked, "So which way am I going?"

"Well, you can take the expressway, or the service roads, and go down a few exits to Forest, then you take a side street, down to a residential area." Claire replied. 

"Okay then, we're off!" Leon replied, backing out of the parking lot and onto the street. Claire stared blankly out the window, and wondered if this would be the last time she went to that house again.

"When I'm with you, I'm free. I'm careless…"* Leon's singing trailed off as he felt Claire stare at him. "Sorry." He said quickly. Laughing slightly, Claire shook her head. "It's ok, I'm just not used to singing. It was kind of forbidden. Steve _always had a headache; there was always __something wrong in the car. I don't know how he could stand to just…sit and drive." She explained._

Leon smiled and Claire quickly said, "Turn right up there." Heading into the residential area, Leon wondered which house was Claire's. "Well, I don't have a problem with you singing, or me, or anyone. Just as long as the song isn't horrible and I can tolerate it." He continued. Nodding slightly, Claire pointed to a house on the corner. "That's it?" Leon asked, remembering the house to be a different shade.

"That's it." Claire repeated as Leon pulled in front of the house. "Let me make up a quick list of what I need and where you can find it." She said, pulling a piece of paper from her pocket. "Pen?" She asked, reaching her hand out. Rummaging in the door pocket, Leon finally pulled on out. "Thanks." Claire said softly, beginning to write.

Looking around, Leon sighed. It was a pretty nice looking neighborhood and seemed unlikely that someone like Steve would live there. "Ok, that's it. The crib is collapsible, so it won't be a pain to take out. Thanks a lot Leon." Claire said, handing the list over. "It's no problem. I'll try to be as quick as I can." Leon said, taking the list, and climbing out of the car. Claire watched as the off-duty cop walked into her home once again. He had only been there once, after all. Steve refused to let any one visit. 

Except of course his friends. Good ol' Brett, never sober in his adult life. Claire clenched her fist tightly and remembered a time, where he and Steve were so drunk that Steve offered Brett a night alone with her. Punching the door, and frightening Katie, Claire cried. In turn, Katie cried. "Shh, please don't cry sweetie. Mommy's ok, see?" Claire said, wiping her eyes. Katie looked up at Claire curiously and tugged her hair. 

Meanwhile, Leon was in the house with a duffel bag, searching for the items on Claire's list. "Clean clothes." Leon read out loud, looking for the bedroom. He found it, and proceeded to opening drawers. "Shirts, socks, pants and shorts…underwear." Leon said, feeling guilty touching the woman's personal belongings. Shaking his head, Leon grabbed a pile of them and closed the drawers. 

After finding Claire's diaper bag, and tucking Katie's crib under his arm, Leon headed outside. Upon seeing a man leaning on the door, and talking to Claire, he walked quicker. "C'mon Claire, he di'nt mean nothin'. Don't be such a bitch." The man said. Leon walked over to him and said, "Hey, get away from her." The man eyed Leon and said, "Or what?" Rolling his eyes, Leon put Claire's belongings in the trunk.

"Did Steve send you? Tell you to try and get Claire back for him?" Leon questioned angrily. "Who the fuck are you? Mind'ya business."** The man said, turning back to Claire. "Leave me alone, Brett. Or I'll call the cops." She said, turning forward. "I _am the cops and I'll arrest you for harassment." Leon said, flashing his shield from the other side of the car. The man finally backed away and glared at Leon before walking away._

Leon climbed into the car and belted himself in. "Asshole." Claire muttered, shifting in her seat. "Who was that guy?" Leon asked, turning the car on. Sighing, Claire replied, "Brett, one of Steve's friends. Just…just drive." Turning the car on, Leon made a K-turn and headed back home. "Claire..if you ever want to talk, even in the middle of the night, don't feel afraid okay?" Leon said as they neared his apartment. Claire looked up at Leon and smiled. 

"Thanks. I don't think anyone has ever made an offer like that to me…well, besides Chris. God knows where he is right now. We finally met up in Antarctica. That's where me and Steve went after escaping from Rockfort Island. But after Alexia was killed, he just kind of went off on his own. I think deep down, he was kind of afraid and needed to be alone." Claire explained. Leon nodded and pulled into his apartment parking lot. 

"I…thought Steve was dead. I mean, I _saw him die. One day, he just…showed up. I had no idea what the fuck happened. The last time I saw him, he told me he loved me, and then he died. Now, he's back in town and wants to be with me. I guess my state of mind at that point was one reason that I was with him. It was still such a damn shock to see someone come back to life, that I thought that if I didn't agree to be with him, that he'd just..be dead again. Maybe my sanity wasn't at normal levels, so I tried to ignore the beatings and non-consensual sex and forced myself to believe that he was alive because he loved me."_

Leon watched Claire as she stared at the glove compartment, and as tears welled up in her eyes. He put a finger on her lips and said, "Shh, that's enough for now. I don't want you getting yourself all worked up, ok?" Claire smiled under Leon's finger and wiped her eyes. "I just feel bad about leaving you in the dark like this. You're probably completely baffled at why the hell I'm acting like I'm dying or something." Claire joked, un-buckling her seat belt.

"Well, I'm curious, yes, but I don't want to push you. It's good to talk, but it's bad to talk too much. Let's get inside, before it starts to pour." Leon said, as lightning flickered in the distance. Claire nodded and the two climbed out of the car and went out to the trunk to remove Claire and Katie's things. "I can't believe you carried this all by yourself!" Claire remarked as they trudged into the building. "Ha ha, the department has all it's officers have memberships to a gym nearby, and we have to go there about three times a week to ensure we meet physical fitness requirements." Leon replied, unlocking the door to the mail hall.

Claire nodded as they walked to the elevator. "I see. I bet Katie's hungry. She's going to start whining soon." She said. Leon pressed the elevator call button a few times and sighed. "I gotta move out of this place.." He said, looking around. Claire looked up at him. "Why? It seems nice enough.." She remarked. Finally, the elevator came, and they stepped on. "Well, it's a lot of things, I guess. The elevator never comes quickly, the neighbors are always loud and having parties, the hot water hardly works half the time…" Leon began.

"Ah, I see. I guess people who own a house don't really have those problems. But where would you go?" Claire asked as they stepped onto Leon's floor. "I have no idea. I don't want to move into another apartment, but I don't want to buy a house until I'm ready. So basically…the only options I have are to complain to the neighbors and Super of the building. He's a pretty reasonable guy. You give him extra money, he gives you what you want." Leon said sarcastically.

Claire snickered as they entered Leon's dim apartment. "You want to put these in the guest room?" Leon asked. "Uh, sure. I guess that's where I'll be staying for awhile." Claire replied, butting the door open and tossing some things onto the bed. Leon set the crib against the wall and placed the over-stuffed duffel on the bed. "Alright, I'll let you get unpacked and settled in. Give me a call if you need anything." Leon said, closing the door to Claire's room.

Sighing slightly, he went to the kitchen and dialed into his precinct. "Ah, yes, Lieutenant Daniels please." Leon said to the receptionist Betty.

"Hey, it's me Leon, I was just calling to give you an update on the domestic violence case I called you about earlier." Leon said quietly.

"Ah, yeah, this was a friend of yours, right?" The lieutenant replied.

"Yeah. We just brought back some of her things from her house, and while she waited in my car, this guy 'Brett' started talking to her. I didn't hear much, but from what I gathered, he was one of her boyfriend's drinking buddies who tried to pressure her into taking him back."

"In cases like these, the attacker usually send some friends to do their bidding while they rot away in a jail cell. How's she doing?" Daniels asked.

"She's alright, a bit…closed off for now. But it's understandable. I want to talk to her about it, and we have a little bit, but I don't want her to feel pressure."

"The hospital said that they didn't do a rape test?"

"Yeah, she just wanted to get the hell out of there. But if they think that he _wasn't_ forcing her, they're fuc—they're wrong. When I came in, he was holding her down and forcing himself of her. Sick bastard."

"Alright, Kennedy. Take care of your friend for a couple of days until she's ready to be alone. Just give the precinct a call when you think you know when you'll be back so we can tell the temp to go, ok? Good luck."

"Thank you for your understanding, sir. Have a nice night."

Sighing, Leon hung up the phone and rubbed his face. It was getting dark out, and he had had a late night the day before so Leon knocked on Claire's door. "Yeah?" Claire asked. "It's me. I'm sacked out, so I'm gonna conk out for the night. There's food in the kitchen, don't be afraid to have what ever you want. If you need me, I'm right across the hall." Leon said through the door. "Alright, thanks." Claire replied. 

Shaking his head, Leon went into his own room and climbed under the covers. He stared up at the ceiling, watching the lights and shadows of cars passing by. It was early in the night, still, but he needed to get some sleep.

TBC

*"My Sacrifice" by Creed

**Insert NYC slang here. It's hard to put into words how I pronounce that…it sounds most like "mind'ja business". Yes, like that.


	4. New Horizons 4

New Horizons, IV

By: Hotaru

Warnings: Steve bashing, abuse, strong language, RE: Code Veronica spoilers

~^~

The sound of Katie crying shook Leon out of his deep sleep. Climbing out of bed, Leon walked across the hall to Claire's room and knocked on the door. There was no answer, so he opened the door. Claire was sleeping soundly, so Leon picked Katie up from her crib and took her into the living room. "Hey, what's the matter?" he asked, looking down at Katie's red face.

She stopped crying briefly to stare up at Leon. He stuck his tongue out at her and she giggled. "There, isn't that better?" Leon asked, sitting down on an old rocking chair by the window. He opened it to let the cool, rainy air in. Leon thought of anything he could sing to calm Katie down, but unfortunately, he didn't remember any. So, he decided on a modern song that wasn't necessarily lullaby-ish. "So lately, 've been wonderin' who will be there to take my place? When I'm gone, you'll need love.."* He had forgotten the words. Katie stared up at him, as if expecting him to continue.

"To light the shadows on your face.." Someone offered from the hallway. Leon's head shot up in surprise. "Claire, you scared me." He said, relaxing again. Claire walked into the room and sat down. "I think you scared _me more. You stole my baby." She replied teasingly. "Sorry. She was crying and I didn't want her to wake you." Leon apologized. Claire waved her hand and sighed. "I haven't gotten a good night's sleep in ages. When ever she'd wake up, Steve would pretend to be asleep so that I'd have to get up." She said._

Leon shook his head. "Every time you talk about him, I hate him more and more." He said lowly. "She's asleep." He whispered. "The rain, remember? I don't know how anyone could fall asleep to that nails-on-a-chalkboard voice of yours though." Claire laughed, standing up. Leon narrowed his eyes and smiled sarcastically. "I've never heard a voice more flat than yours." He countered. Claire slapped his arm and walked back into her room.

"I was only _teasing! No need to get pissy." Claire said defensively. Leon softly placed Katie in her crib and looked down at Claire. She had changed into a large flannel shirt and a pair of boxers, and just a hint of her shoulder was showing. "I better let you get back to sleep." Claire said, pulling her shirt up to cover her shoulder back up. "Yeah, you too. Thanks for taking care of Katie. She hasn't had a respectable daddy in a long time." She said thankfully._

Leon looked down at the sleeping child and smiled. "It's not a problem. I'd rather let you finally get some sleep, than get some myself." He replied. Claire rested her head on Leon's arm and sighed. "Thanks. I'm sure Katie thanks you too." She said. Leon nodded and the two shared silence for a while before Claire starting falling asleep. Trying his best not to disturb her, Leon picked Claire up and placed her on the bed. Hesitating momentarily, he kissed her forehead and quickly retreated to his room.

~^~

Claire woke to bright sunshine streaming through her window. Groaning, she rolled over and covered her eyes with a blanket. "Claire? It's getting pretty late, you better get up." Groaning again, Claire turned to the door. "What?" She asked impatiently. Leon smiled and said, "I said it's getting late. You gonna get up?" Claire dropped her head back on her pillow and shook her head. "No." She said bluntly. 

Sighing slightly, Leon walked over to the bed. "Claire..your brother's here." He said quietly. "What?!" Claire exclaimed, bolting upright. "He just got here and really wants to see you." Leon replied. Claire climbed out of bed and wiped her eyes before going out into the living room. Chris was staring at pictures that lined the walls. "Chris!" Claire exclaimed, running over and hugging her brother. "Claire!" Chris said surprised, turning and catching his sister.

"I came as soon as I heard. Are you okay?" He asked worriedly. 

"For the most part. I tried to call you but you're never in one place long enough for a phone number or cell phone or anything." Claire answered, sitting down on the couch. 

"Ah, can I get you something to drink Chris?" Leon interrupted. 

"Sure, water's fine." Chris replied.

"So where is he now?" Chris asked.

"Jail. He sent some of his buddies to try and make me go back with him, while I was in the hospital _and when Leon took me back home to get my things." Claire answered sullenly._

"Any idea what the conviction is gonna be?"

"No. Something tells me that it won't be nearly as long as it should, though. Luckily, Leon's with the local PD. Hopefully he'll help out with that."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."

"It's alright, I don't blame you for anything."

"You should."

Claire looked up at her brother and sighed. "I'm not going to get mad at you for not being around. Besides, what if you _were there? You'd stop the argument,  Steve would go off drinking and I'd clean the house. It'd just happen over and over again until something like this happened. So stop blaming yourself." She said, slightly annoyed. Chris sighed and leaned back on the couch. "You should have left him a long time ago. Everyone saw what he was doing to you but no one could say a damn thing." He said softly._

Leon returned and handed Chris his water and turned to Claire. "Do you want me to go or..?" He asked. Claire shrugged so Leon sat down on the couch next to Chris. "Why couldn't you say anything if it was so apparent?" Claire asked Chris. 

"It was just hard to. You never had a real relationship before, and this one used to work out really well.  Now that there was a baby involved, no one wanted to try and separate a family." He retorted. 

"So what!? If you guys saw how much of an asshole he was, I would have appreciated being told about it!"

"How the hell could you have missed it!? He fucking _beat you! And you wanted someone to __tell you that he was a jerk off!?"_

"No! I wanted someone to tell me that he's going to just lose it one day and it'd be better if Katie didn't have a father, than to have one like Steve!"

"If we would have said that to you, it'd have to be in private, and Steve _never let you go anywhere! Not even with __me! Did you expect me to just waltz into your house, interrupt Steve while he was in a drunken rage and tell you that he's a good for nothing piece of shit!?"_

"Yes!"

Leon raised his eyebrows and Katie started to cry. "I'll get 'er." Leon said quickly, escaping the room. "She's probably hungry." Claire called into her room. "Okay. You want to feed her?" Leon replied. Claire eyed Chris and said, "Hold on." And she went to help Leon. "Here. Just feed her this and if she's full, she'll spit the food back out so be careful." She said, handing Leon a jar of baby food and a small spoon.

~^~

The four had gone out to dinner that night, after Chris decided it was hopeless trying to get Claire to understand him. "Ok, how about this. Imagine that Jill and I were together, which we're not. Now, imagine that Jill is cheating on me with Leon here. Now, could you just tell me straight out, knowing how much I loved her?" Chris asked Claire as they waited for their food. 

"Oh Jesus Christ! Do we _have to talk about this?" Claire hissed. _

"Yes! I don't want you thinking that I just was afraid to tell you what I thought about Steve. I want you to know how hard it would have been." Chris replied.

"I think what Chris is trying to say is that it'd be a painful task to tell someone so in love as you were, that they were just wasting their time on something that wouldn't work out." Leon interrupted. Chris raised his hands and exclaimed, "He get's it!" Leon chuckled softly. Claire nodded her head slowly. "Yeah, well. I'm still upset." She said, crossing her arms on the table.

"Can I take this away?" A waiter asked, popping out of nowhere. "Yeah, sure." Was the general consensus, and all food was taken away. "We better get out of here. It's getting late." Leon remarked, looking down at his watch. The check arrived, and all three put money on the table. "Come on Claire, this was our treat to you. You don't have to pay." Leon said, pushing Claire's money back to her. 

"Nu-uh, this was expensive and I don't want you guys to pay for it all." Claire replied. Chris snatched the money from her hand and placed it in the little flipbook where the check was. "I don't mind taking your money. After all, you did it to me _so_ much when we were little." He said with a sly grin. Eventually, a truce was made and they all paid for their own dinner and chipped in for a tip.

~^~

After arriving back at Leon's apartment, Claire went to bed while Chris and Leon watched some t.v. It was still awkward between the two, who hadn't really gotten to know each other. "Thanks for doing all of this. Claire wasn't allowed to have friends with Steve around so she probably would have been in some shelter if you weren't there." Chris said thankfully.

"It's not a problem. I'm glad that she had given me her address when we met before, or else…" Leon replied.

"Man…I still feel like shit for not being there. I _should have said something when I first realized what he was doing to her." Chris said angrily at himself._

"Trust me, it's not just you. Since I've been with the PD, I've seen plenty of cases like these. Unfortunately, some ended with morbid circumstances, but everyone feels that same that you do now. And we always tell them that it's not their fault and even if they _had said something, things probably wouldn't have changed."_

Chris nodded in agreement, and ran his hand through his hair. "So what do you think is going to happen to him?" He asked after awhile. Leon sighed and looked thoughtful. "It all depends on evidence, witnesses and things like that. If he cooperates, then they'll most likely give a lighter sentence, and since he and Claire _were technically involved, they might make it a count lighter than rape, so I have no idea." He said finally._

"It isn't right. You saw what happened, she _knew what was going on. Shouldn't that be enough?" Chris asked. Leon shrugged slightly. "In my opinion, of course, but different cases, different views…everything is viewed on a case by case basis, you know?" Chris nodded and yawned slightly. "I better get some sleep. The flight here was terrible." He noted._

Leon raised his eyebrows. "You flew here? Where were you?" He asked. "Europe. Non-stop investigating." Chris replied tiredly. "It's an honorable job, stopping mega-organizations from world domination. Alright man, see you in the morning." Leon said, standing up. Chris shook his hand and Leon retired to his bedroom.

TBC

* "Where ever You Will Go" by The Calling


	5. New Horizons 5

New Horizons, V

By: Hotaru

Warnings: Steve bashing (meaning the story doesn't make him out to be a nice guy), abuse, strong language, RE: Code Veronica spoilers

~^~

The next morning, Claire woke up bright and early to cook breakfast for Leon and Chris. It had been ages since she and her brother had been together long enough to have a home cooked meal, and she wasn't about to let this chance pass her by. While waiting for a pancake to cook, the phone rang. Claire bit her lip and wondered whether or not she should answer it. /I don't want Leon to miss any important calls from work…I better answer it/ 

Picking up the receiver, Claire said hello.

"..Who's this?" A gruff voice asked.

"A friend of Leon's. Who's this?" Claire replied.

"Claire?"

"Y-yes…who is this?"

"Hey baby, I've missed you."

Claire's knees buckled underneath her and she sank to the floor. "How did you get this number?" She asked as calmly as she could. "Ask and ye shall receive. So how you doin'?" Steve replied as if nothing had happened.

"Since when do you give a shit about how I'm going?" Claire asked worriedly.

"Aw, that hurts babe. So have you talked to the cops yet?" Steve said in that immature tone of his.

"Yeah, and they're going to put you away for a long time, you asshole."

"Ouch. I guess you really do miss me, huh?"

"I'm hanging up now."

"Wait a sec, we need to get our stories straight here."

Claire couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What the hell are you talking about?! I told the cops exactly what happened, and if you have any sense in you, you should too." She said shakily.

"Tch, they won't lock me up. I'll just tell them all about your kinky sex games and how you begged me to do it rough."

In an attempt to clear her head, Claire banged the telephone receiver against the wall, shaking Chris from his sleep on the couch. "Fuck you!" She spat, hoping she had hurt Steve's stupid ears. "Don't you wish? Come on, they said you gotta come down to see me now." Steve said crudely.

"No way in fucking hell." She was almost shouting now. Leon emerged from his bedroom to see what was going on, just as Chris walked into the kitchen. "Claire, what's going on?" He asked worriedly.

Claire let the phone drop from her hands, and Leon picked it up swiftly. "Who is this?…oh, everyone's favorite asshole! Call Claire again and I'll rip off your dick and feed it to you." He exclaimed before hanging the phone up. Both Chris and Claire's eyes widened at Leon's sudden ludeness. "S-sorry." Leon said, putting a hand behind his head.

Chris took Claire to the couch, and Leon turned off the stove after flipping over the pancake. "What happened? How the hell did he get this number?" Chris asked worriedly.

"I-I don't know. He said that they gave it to him." Claire sobbed into her older brother's shoulder. "And he said that I have to come down to see him because they said s-so. A-and he said that he'd tell them that I be-be-begged him to rape me!" She was overcome with sobs now, barely breathing.

Leon went to his room and changed into his police uniform before going to the siblings. "I'm going down there to straighten this all out right now. He's not going to talk to you again." He said, before stalking out of the apartment.

~^~

Ignoring the desk clerk, Leon stormed through the detective office and into the lieutenant's office. "Kennedy?" His boss asked, wrinkling his brow. "What's up?"

"You know that rape case, y'know, involving my friend? Well that asshole calls up my damn apartment this morning, telling her that she's gotta come down to see him and that he's going to tell the DA that she begged to be raped." Leon rambled lividly.

"Are you serious?" His boss asked.

Leon nodded and paced impatiently around the office. "Lets go down to holding to talk to this little punk." The lieutenant said, standing from his chair. "The only talking is gonna be him begging me to stop beating his—"

"Leon, relax. It isn't going to help if you get all worked up here." His boss interrupted.

"Yeah…yeah, you're right. Ok, let's do it."

The two headed down to the bowels of the building to the holding cells. "Burnside! Get your ugly mug out here!" The lieutenant exclaimed. Pale hands emerged from a cell before Steve showed his squinty-eyed face. Leon had to practically overexert his lungs to keep from pulling out his gun and pump Steve's head full of lead. "What's this I hear about you calling up your ex, huh? Threatening her?" The lieutenant asked.

Steve ignored him, and sat down on his bed. Leon stepped in front of his boss and growled lowly. "What are you gonna to say now, asshole? Now that you've got me face to face? Yeah, not so tough now you fucking wife beater!" His voice echoed throughout the hallway making some inmates stick their heads out to see what was going on.

Smiling sickeningly, Steve smacked his ass and blew Leon a kiss. "Keys!" Leon demanded, catching the jingling objects one handed. Steve remained poised on his bed with a stupidly innocent expression on his face. Leon unlocked the cell and stormed into it, grabbing Steve by the collar and hoisting him into the air. "You're such a big man, Burnside. Beating up women, raping them, playing innocent. I bet there's some fat tattooed man downstairs named Juan Carlo who'd like to ram you up the ass because he thinks you're sexy. You wanna go down there and see? Give ol' Juan Carlo a call?"  
  
Steve stared into Leon's eyes and ignored him. "That's what I thought you piece of shit. If you even think about Claire again, I'll make sure to have them send up your good pal from downstairs. And I'll tell him you like it rough." Leon finished, throwing Steve against the wall before pulling the cell shut and locking it swiftly. Once the two headed upstairs, Leon's boss put a hand on his shoulder. "I don't know what to say, Kennedy. That little shit looked like a fly caught in a spiders web, albeit for a short while." He said.

Breathing heavily, Leon ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, that's kinda what I was hoping for. She's a damn emotional wreck, lieu. She damn near broke down after I told that ass off and hung up the phone." He said worriedly. 

"Well, unfortunately in cases like these, the victims some times have suicidal tendencies. Now I'm not familiar with your friend, so I can't say this for sure, but…well she shouldn't be left alone until she's more stable." Leon's boss advised.

"Yeah…I could never see Claire doing something like that…or being this messed up. But now…you never know, I guess." Leon replied.

"Well, I better let you get back. Go on down to payroll. There's some money you can use to take care of your friend for awhile until she's back on her feet."

Leon raised his eyebrows. "But I haven't been working for awhile. I can't just take money from anyone." He refused. 

"Leon, it's not for you if that helps your conscience. Treat her well, make her know she's safe, and loved and just give her support, ok?" his boss insisted. Leon reached his hand out and shook his boss' hand tightly. "Thanks a lot, for all your help. Alright, I better get going." He said gratefully, before heading down to pay roll.

~^~

Meanwhile, back at Leon's apartment, Claire had calmed down a bit. "You wanna talk?" Chris offered. Claire shook her head and buried her face in a pillow. "You know, some times it helps to talk about things…like when Mom and Dad died. You wouldn't stop crying until you finally talked about it." Chris continued. Answering Claire's silence with a sigh, Chris looked around for a notepad.

Upon finding one, he took it and gave it to Claire. "It's hard to say things out loud when you're so upset, so just write it down and we can talk about it, ok?" Claire nodded at took the notepad and shoved it under her body. Luckily, Leon returned home, breaking the awkwardness. "Hey, how's she doing?" Leon asked quietly. Chris shook his head and ran his hand through his hair. "Not good. She won't talk and just kinda lays there." He replied.

"I guess it'd be best to just leave her alone for awhile, huh?" Leon said, sighing slightly. 

"Yeah. Hey..maybe I can give Jill a call to see if she can come down." Chris said suddenly.

"Jill?"

"Yeah, we're partners. Maybe Claire needs a woman around to feel more comfortable."

"That's true."

"The only problem is that we only communicate through e-mails and a private instant message server. So it'll be tough getting in contact with her…"

Leon stroked his chin. "Well, it's worth a try." He said, going to retrieve his laptop. 

"Yeah. She usually checks her mail often to see if there was any information sent about Umbrella, so hopefully we can talk soon." Chris replied, allowing Leon to sit at the table to set up his laptop. 

"Ok, all set. Let's hope this works.." Leon said a moment later, with complete and honest sincerity.

TBC


	6. New Horizons 6

New Horizons, VI

By: Hotaru

Warnings: Steve bashing, abuse, strong language

~^~

While Chris tried to get in contact with Jill, Leon sat down on the recliner and watched Claire. "What'cha doing?" He asked. Claire shrugged. It looked like she was drawing lots of angry suns. "Can I see?" Leon asked. Claire shrugged again and handed the note pad over.

Chris made the mistake of giving her a red pen. There were a lot of suns with slitty eyes, big, sharp teeth and daggers.* And pools of blood, as well. "Aren't you a little ray of sunshine?" He said teasingly, handed the pad back to her. 

"Leave me alone." Claire retorted. Leon stood up and sighed. 

"I'm gonna order a pizza. You want any toppings?" He asked, to neither in particular.

Claire shrugged, yet again, and Chris looked up. "Pepperoni." He said quickly. Leon smirked and went to the phone. "Having any luck?" Leon asked, dialing in the number. "Yes and no. I wrote to her secondary e-mail account, because the first is for business only. Some times I can find her on an instant messenger that's closed to the general public…" Chris said, staring intently at the screen.

"But she's probably not on right now. Damn." He concluded, leaning back in his chair. "You can always check again later." Leon said quickly, before placing the order in at the pizzeria. There was tension between the three as Claire remained in a sullen pile on the couch. "Claire, talk to me, please!" Chris exclaimed, not being able to take the silence any more.

Claire wrote some thing on her note pad and Chris went over to read it. "Please leave me alone." He dictated before dropping his arms to his sides. "You know, maybe this is why no one ever said anything. You'd just be in this…pitiful self-sorrow shit stage, and you'd be impossible to talk to! Suck it up, Claire." He said angrily before storming out of Leon's apartment.

Looking up at the door, Claire's lower lip quivered. "He's right you know…well, partially anyway. If you ever expect yourself to feel better, you need to get your feelings out, so you can start the road to recovery. People are going to want to help you less and less if you keep acting like this." Leon said, harsher then he intended.

Claire reached for the note pad Chris had dropped on the table and wrote something down on it. She held it in her lap hesitantly before holding in the air for Leon to read. He grabbed a pen from the table and went over and grabbed the tablet.

"It's happened before."

Leon fell back onto the recliner in shock. Quickly, he scribbled something down and handed it back to Claire.

"It has? When?"

It seemed like a dumb thing to say, but not much could be said to something like that.

"A lot of times. That's how Katie…y'know.."

Claire turned her head from Leon so he wouldn't see the tears stream down her face. Leon grabbed the note pad and read it quickly. His heart nearly collapsed.

"I am so, so sorry. Did he threaten you before he'd rape you?" He scribbled, unable to write neatly.

"Yes. He said that if I didn't have sex with him, that he'd burn the house down at night with me inside. Or that he'd tell Chris I was dead, so he could lock me away in a closet until he wanted me." Claire's writing was barely legible now as she weakly dropped the paper to the floor.

After reading the message, Leon practically flew over to Claire and hugged her tightly. "It's okay..let it out." He whispered soothingly. And she did. Neither of them noticed Chris enter the apartment with a bashful and apologetic look on his face, so he silently sat down at the table to see if Jill had replied.

Leon held Claire tightly, and stroked her hair, and rocked her back and forth, thinking of a song that fit Claire perfectly.

_Wish that I could cry  
Fall upon my knees  
Find a way to lie  
About a home I'll never see _

_It may sound absurd…but don't be naive  
Even Heroes have the right to bleed  
I may be disturbed…but won't you concede  
Even Heroes have the right to dream  
It's not easy to be me**_

However, Leon's inner singing was disrupted upon hearing Chris sort of jump out of his chair. "What is it?" Leon asked, releasing Claire. She excused herself to the bathroom, as Leon walked over to Chris. 

"It's Jill." Chris said with a big smile on his face. 

"Yeah?" Leon asked. Chris nodded and tried to connect with Jill to the private instant messager.

Jill: Chris, where have you been!?!?!?!?

Chris: Relax, I'm in the states with Claire, it finally happened.

Chris looked up at Leon so he would get a hint and, to be incredibly blunt, go away. "Oh! Sorry, just let me know if anything comes up." Leon exclaimed innocently, scampering off.

Jill: Ack, what did that bastard do to her now?

Chris: …Beat and raped her. 

Jill: Oh my god!

Jill: Is she okay?!

Chris: Physically, yeah but she's an emotional train wreck. See, it's just me and her pal Leon here, and I thought she could use some womanly care…

Jill: --And you took it upon yourself to sniff me out to drag me all the way over there while there's a **huge case here to take care of your sister?**

Chris: You make me sound so horrible! I just thought she could use some freaking womanly…advice or kind words or something! Is that so wrong?

Jill: Chris…come on! I can't! You know we're too damn busy to take any vacations!

Chris: This isn't a vacation! She was raped, for god sakes, and she'll barely talk to me her own brother! Do you expect her to be all happy being in an apartment with two guys!?

Jill: No, I guess not. But can't you call like a social worker or something? I'm really busy, Chris. I want to help, but…

Chris: A social worker will just make her more distant. I'm thinking she needs therapy for all of this. But I would really appreciate it if you came down.

Jill: Do you have any idea how much work I'm going to miss!?

Chris: I'll pay you!

Jill: …how much?

Chris: I can't believe I have to bribe you! Uh…a hundred bucks?

Jill: Make it two, a new gun and I'm in!

Chris put his head in his hands and sighed. "Hey Leon, come here a sec.." He called. Leon shuffled over to Chris and asked, "Yeah, what's up?

"Jill's going to come, only if I pay her two hundred bucks and buy her a new gun." Chris explained.

"Yeesh, I thought she'd be willing to help out…" Leon remarked, not liking how Jill sounded.

"Oh, don't take it the wrong way. Jill'd be here in a flash if there wasn't a lot of investigating to do. We're short handed as it is up there, so she's been working over time to make up for everyone else's work.  
  


"Ah, I understand. My boss gave me some extra money to help out with Claire, so if you need the money…" Leon offered.

"No,no,no I don't want to put you out or anything. It's just that I'm short on cash, and I had to take a lot with me to pay for the ticket here, and stuff like that. Plus I won't be getting paid for this."

A thought suddenly occurred to Leon. "Hey, before, Claire told me that she saw Steve die…do you think that some how Umbrella did something to him, y'know to bring him back to life or anything?" He asked quietly. Chris thought for a moment. "It could very well be. From what I was told, he was injected with the T-Veronica virus and mutated into a monster. Maybe they did something to the virus to make him pass out after a certain amount of time, so that we'd think he was dead, and so they could perform experiments on him…" he added.

"It's a long shot, but you never know. You can send this to your boss, and get a few bucks, maybe?" Leon replied. Chris shrugged and realized he was still talking to Jill. 

Chris: Sorry about that, we were talking about the situation here. And fine, fine. Just get over here and don't let Claire know about this "deal."

Jill: Ah, you're back. I should have made it $300…but anyway, I'll be there as soon as I can.

TBC

*I draw these all the time. I'll put one online one day so you can see the madness.

**Of course, that's Five for Fighting's "Superman"


	7. New Horizons 7

New Horizons, VII

By: Hotaru

Warnings: Steve bashing, abuse, strong language, RE: Code Veronica spoilers

~^~

Before Claire had emerged from the bathroom, Katie was crying again so Chris went into Claire's room to cuddle and coo with his niece. "You remember you uncle Chris, don't you?" He asked the little girl. Her big, deep blue eyes looked up in wonder as she reached out and touched Chris' face. "Of course you remember me. What's the matter, baby?" He asked, bouncing the girl softly.

A gurgle of sounds was his answer. "Someone needs a diaper change." Chris said, sniffing the air. He took Katie into the hall and knocked on the bathroom. "Hey Claire, Katie needs a changing." He called through the door. "Just a minute." Claire replied, sniffing deeply. The buzzer for the downstairs door rang, so Leon went to the intercom and told the pizza guy he'd be down in a minute. Chris tossed him a crumpled up ten and Leon took it gratefully before jogging out of the room.

Claire opened the bathroom door and took Katie from Chris. "Hey, I'll do it. It's no problem." Chris said as Claire closed the door. "It's okay." Claire replied sullenly. Chris sighed deeply and looked around for plates in Leon's kitchen. He eventually found them and set three down on the table. The quest for napkins was a difficult one, and they weren't found until Leon returned with a heavenly smelling box of pizza. 

"Hey, you need to find a better place to keep these." Chris said, waving the napkins in the air. "Oh yeah, I don't have a lot of cabinet space, really. Over the oven was the only place they could go." Leon said, placing the pizza on the table. 

"Hey Claire, pizza's here. Ah, shit. Jill doesn't know where we are. I better see if I can contact her again." Chris said suddenly, jetting over to Leon's laptop.

Toting a now smiling Katie, Claire went into the kitchen and sat down, fingering her plate slightly. "Come on Jill…still be there…" Chris said, tapping his finger impatiently. "Jill?" Claire asked, looking up slightly. 

"Oh yeah, she's gonna come over for awhile. Is that okay?" Chris explained.

"Yeah, I guess so. Just as long as she doesn't bring some guy with her." Claire replied.

"Nope, just her. I figured you'd rather talk to a woman that me and Leon here."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Great then…ah, here she is."

While Chris gave Jill their location, she agreed to call them when she knew when she'd be arriving at the airport. "Okay, that's settled." Chris said, hungrily grabbing a piece of pizza. "Don't you want any?" Leon asked as Claire sat motionless. She shrugged, so he pulled her out a piece and plated it. Katie immediately grabbed for it and pulled a bunch of cheese into her mouth. "Thanks." Claire muttered, reaching for the slice and bringing it to her lips.

The three ate in silence for a while, until Leon and Chris finished eating and went to watch t.v. Claire was left to pick at her pizza while occasionally letting Katie nibble on it. "Can I have some new clothes?" Claire asked suddenly. Chris and Leon both smiled. "Sure! What ever you want." Chris said quickly. "I'll wait until Jill gets here…I know guys don't like to shop." Claire said, the pitch of her voice rising considerably. "Great. You want to come watch t.v. with us?" Leon asked.

Claire shrugged and walked over to the couch and sat beside Leon. "What's on?" She asked. Leon searched the guide. "Pet Sematary…the new version of The Shining…The World's Greatest Magic, whoopee." He said. 

"I've never seen Pet Sematary. Is it good?" Claire asked. Leon shrugged. "

I guess, for it's time. I mean '88 wasn't that long ago, but it reeks of the seventies. It's strange…that's the best word to describe it." He explained. 

He turned to the sci-fi channel, where the movie was just starting. "We might have to put Katie in another room." Chris murmured. "Is it scary?" Claire asked worriedly. Leon shook his head, but said, "Kind of, but she'd probably be terrified." Claire nodded and stood up. "I'll put her in her crib with some toys then." She said, walking to her room quickly.

"Well, she seems to be getting better already." Leon remarked.

"At least she's talking now. That's good. Hopefully Jill can help too." Chris replied.

"This Jill…are you and her, y'know?"

"What? No, ha ha..wow. I never thought about her like that. But no, we're just co-workers."

"She good-looking?"

"Yeah, she's gorgeous. But we're only friends."

Leon chuckled slightly at Chris' transparent affection for the woman. Claire returned and flopped down on the couch with a sigh. "So what'd I miss?" She asked.

"Nothing really…this family just moved in..the little girl is annoying and the little boy almost got hit by a truck. Lucky the weird, old neighbor scooped him up before it was too late." Leon reported with a chuckle.

"Something tells me that kid isn't too bright." Claire replied, grinning slightly.

The three watched the movie in peace, commenting occasionally at the stupidity of it all. About a half and hour after it ended, the phone rang. "I'll get it." Leon announced, getting up from his seat. 

"Yello?..ah, you must be Jill…yeah, he's here. Just a sec." Leon said, and Chris was by the phone in a flash.

"Jill? Hey…wow, that soon huh? Yeah, I guess so…uh huh…okay…twelve a.m., got it. Sure, see you there. Ok, bye." Chris said, writing down information on his hand. After hanging up the phone he returned to the living room. "She'll be at the airport around midnight. You guys don't have to go if you don't want to." He said.

Leon shrugged, as did Claire. "What the hell. I won't be going to sleep any time soon after that anyway." Leon said, placing his hands behind his head. "Claire?" Chris asked, waiting for his sister's approval. "Sure. Doesn't matter to me." She replied, yawning slightly.

~^~

"Monopoly?"

"No way. Too long."

"Okay how about…Pictionary?"

"That sounds like fruity-licious fun."

"Shut up Chris!"

"Right back at'cha Leon!"

Claire groaned and tossed a pillow at the two who had started to wrestle each other. "You guys are acting like a couple of kids, for Gods sakes." She said with a shake of her head. Chris climbed off of Leon and growled at him sort of, before stretching his arms upwards. "Okay, Trivial Pursuit? Gotta love dem pie pieces." Leon said, hoping that they would agree on a game to pass the time.

"Oh fine, if it'll stop you two." Claire said, finally caving in. Leon restrained from clicking his heels and went to retrieve the game. "I can't believe how childish you're acting." Claire spoke to her brother. 

"Yeah yeah, just good fun." Chris said with a wave of his hand.

"I bet you wouldn't be acting like that if Jill were here." Claire said teasingly.

Chris' face reddened slightly. "Shut up! We're just friends, for the love of God!" he said nervously. Leon finally emerged with the dusty box and plunked it down on the table. "Okay, I call blue!" he announced. Chris called green and Claire grudgingly took pink.

They set up the table and rolled the dice to see who went first. Chris got the highest number so he rolled, moved four spaces and Leon pulled out a card. "I don't know how the hell we'll know the answers to these, but here goes. What killed reggae king Bob Marley?"

"Heroin!" Chris answered quickly.

"Brain cancer." Leon countered, shaking his head in dismay.

"Ok, Claire, it's your turn." Leon continued, wondering how long the game would actually last.

This time, Chris pulled out a card. "What color were Bob Dylan's shoes in his 1969 Isle of Wight concert?" He asked.

Claire pursed her lips. "Pink?"

"Green. Shit, this game sucks!" Chris exclaimed, tossing the card down.

Leon sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Ok, fuck Trivial Pursuit. Let's just make up our own version and use money instead of stupid pie pieces." He offered. Chris and Claire shrugged and nodded. "Ok, I'll go first since I made it up. Chris, since you were first in the last game you can be first again in this one. Let's say…fifty cents for each correct answer?" Claire and Chris nodded again.

"Alright, what's the square root of 144?" Leon asked.

"…12." Chris answered with only a moment's hesitation.

"Dammit. Ok, let me get some paper so we can keep score. The person with the highest score gets paid by both the losers, ok?" Leon said. 

Since there was no argument, the game continued.

~^~

"I'm so tired…I give up." Claire moaned, trying desperately to try to figure out how long one guy had the hiccups for. "You give up?" Leon asked. Claire nodded. "Sixty-nine years! How could you not know that!?" Leon exclaimed. Chris had given up nearly an hour ago, and Leon and Claire were neck and neck. "Ok, you guys owe me…ah, fifty bucks each? That's it? Damn." He boasted, looking at the score sheet. Chris coughed up the money and Claire wrote an I.O.U.

Chris glanced at his watch and nearly freaked. "Oh, shit! It's almost twelve. We gotta go get Jill from the airport!" he exclaimed, jumping up from the couch. Leon pocketed his cash and went to get his shoes on, and Claire went to wash her face, in an attempt to wake herself up. "C'mon, c'mon! Hurry up!" Chris said impatiently, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "If you want me to hurry, you can get Katie's stroller out." Claire called from the bathroom.

Chris went to Claire's room and looked in the closet before finding it behind a bunch of clothes. "Got it!" He exclaimed, picking Katie up from her crib. In a few more minutes, the four were in the hallway, ready to go. Claire held Katie, and Chris carried her stroller. The three piled into the car, and Leon zoomed off to the only airport in town.

TBC****


	8. New Horizons 8

New Horizons, VIII

By: Hotaru

Warnings: I can't edit this fic cause we reformated the computer and it won't let me open the html file normally, so please try to ignore the speech not being in new paragraphs! Steve bashing, abuse, strong language, RE: Code Veronica spoilers

~^~

When they finally got into the airport, it was a quarter after twelve. "Ok..she said she'd meet us at the luggage pick up from Europe. So...where the hell is that?" Chris asked, looking around the semi-packed airport. "Why don't you ask someone?" Claire suggested. Chris glared at her blatant attack on his intelligence and looked around for an employee.

After getting the run-around, they were finally at the right place. It was 12:30. "Shit.." Chris spat, looking around for his comrade. And suddenly, there she was. A glowing brilliance on her beautiful, yet annoyed face. She glanced at her watch, her hair cascading down her face briefly only to be tossed back as she raised her head. "Jill!" Chris called, trotting over to the young woman. Jill's eyebrows jumped upwards as Chris made his way towards her.

When he did reach her, she slapped him hard. "Ouch. What was that for?" Chris asked, rubbing his face slightly. 

"You jerk! Do you have any idea what my life has been like?!" Jill exclaimed. Chris wrinkled his brow slightly. 

"What do you mean?" he asked, confused. Giving up on the angry-act, Jill fell into Chris' arms and hugged him tightly. 

"I was so worried that something had happened to you. The apartment was a mess, all your guns and ammo were gone. And there wasn't even a note or anything to tell me where you were." She explained, tearing slightly.

"Jill..I'm so sorry. I was going to write you a letter but...my first flight was cancelled and I had to be in the airport within a half hour. I barely had time to pack. I'm sorry..." Chris explained, wondering why Jill was so worried about him.

"I've just been a little on edge lately, I guess. There's just too much going on right now...and when you disappeared...I snapped."

"I'm sorry. I can't imagine how it must have been for you."

"To come home, and just find you missing. No one was around, the place was a wreck. I pulled out my gun half expecting-"

Chris put his hand under Jill's chin and met her eyes. "Shh, it's ok. We shouldn't be talking about this in public, anyway. Let's just get back to Leon's place, and we can talk there." He said comfortingly. Jill nodded and wiped her eyes. "Okay. What the hell took you so long, anyway? You had me worried sick, again." She questioned. Chris shook his head. "Long story. Jill, I don't know if you've met my sister, Claire..Claire, this is Jill." He said, making introductions.

"I'm so sorry." Jill said, reaching out to hug Claire tightly. Claire said nothing, however. 

"And, this is Leon, Claire's friend from way back in Raccoon City." Chris continued. Jill shook his hand, and said, "Nice to meet you."

Jill looked down at the sleeping Katie and grinned. "She looks just like you and Chris." She remarked, smiling up at Claire. "I'm glad about that." Claire replied. The quintet then proceeded to leave the airport and head home. "Thanks in advance for housing me, Leon." Jill piped in halfway home.

"Oh, it's no problem. My apartment is probably going to be a little cramped but I've got a pull out sofa-bed and just re-stocked the fridge so we're good." Leon replied.

"A pull out sofa? Don't tell me I'm going to have to sleep next to this guy." Jill said, motioning to Chris with her thumb.

Leon chuckled slightly. "Oh no, I was going to sleep next to Chris, and you were going to sleep on my bed." He replied, grinning. Jill burst into laughter, and Chris could only bury his face in one of his hands. "I seriously hope you're joking, Leon." He said, not looking up. "But Chris...I thought you loved me." Leon replied, barely able to contain his laughter.

When Chris made a break for the door handle, Leon gave the act up. "Okay, okay, no more. I'm kidding, ok? Don't make yourself into road kill, alright?" He said quickly, locking the doors from the side of his door. Chris snorted in Leon's direction and stared out the window. "God, Chris, lighten up." Claire said, cocking her head to side. "Okay, this coming from the Queen of Depression herself?" Chris asked ironically.

Claire turned around with a smug look on her face. "Even I laughed, Chris. You got ants in your pants, or something? Ohhh, now I get it..." She said, shifting her eyes to the innocent Jill. Chris' eyes widened and he gently shook his head 'no'. "What, what is it?" Jill asked, leaning forward. 

Leon pulled into his parking space and turned off the car. "Ok! We're here!" He announced cheerfully, saving Chris from any embarrassment. They all climbed out of the car, and Chris got Jill's bags like the gentleman he is. "Would you mind if I take a shower real quick, Leon? There was a problem with the AC on the plane, and it was horribly uncomfortable." Jill asked politely as they began their ascent.

"Yeah, that's fine." Leon replied, tapping his foot anxiously. 

"I think we exceed the maximum occupancy..." Claire remarked at the dreadfully slow-moving elevator.

"Not unless we weigh five-hundred pounds each." Jill answered.

"I dunno Jill, you could be wearing a corset under that blouse." Chris said teasingly.

"Yes, a magical corset that makes my five-hundred pounds of fat disappear into a different dimension until I take it off?" Jill said sarcastically.

"It could happen." Leon murmured as the elevator doors finally opened.

~^~

Soon thereafter, everyone had settled in. Katie was once again sleeping soundly in her crib, Leon had retired to his room, and Claire was preparing for bed. Chris, on the other hand, was trying to get his mind off of Jill. And he was having a wee bit of trouble. /I can't believe how much I'm thinking about her. It's like...when Leon mentioned her looks, something inside me clicked. I guess I'd never imagined Jill like that before. And that shirt she's wearing is white and see through. No, no, no! It's thoughts like that that are going to fuck everything up!/

Chris' head shot up as Claire left her room and knocked on the bathroom door. "Yeah?" Jill asked from inside. "It's me, Claire. Can I come in and brush my teeth?" Claire asked through the door. "Sure, the doors open." Jill replied.

Despite restraining himself, Chris couldn't help but peek upwards as the bathroom door opened. Thankfully, Jill wasn't facing his directing. She was shampooing her hair, and a line of suds was going all the way down her back. When Claire closed the door behind her, Chris realized her was holding his breath. Nervously running his hand through his hair, he closed his eyes. /I can't be having these thoughts. I'm gonna be on edge the whole freaking time she's here. Shit...I gotta talk to Leon about this before I explode./

Standing quickly, Chris went to Leon's door and knocked on it quietly. "Yeah?" Leon called from inside, obviously jolting awake. 

"It's me, can I talk to you for a sec?" Chris asked softly, not wanting Claire to hear him. 

"Sure, come on in." Leon replied.

A small lamp had been turned on, and Chris nervously sat down on the edge of Leon's bed. "So what's up?" He asked. 

"Well...I've been having these thoughts lately, and I can't get them out of my head.." Chris began.

"I'm not gay." Leon said quickly.

Chris froze momentarily, before laughing lightly. "No, no. That's not it at all." He said reassuringly. Leon sighed in relief. "Thank God. Ok, so go ahead."

"Now, these thoughts have the potential of making me act stupid, or do stupid things that will make me fuck up something really good." Chris continued.

"Is it Jill?" Leon said bluntly.

"Yeah. Ever since you mentioned what I thought of her the other day, I just keep thinking about it, and imagining things and I just have this feeling in the pit of my stomach that I'm going to ruin everything by coming on to her or something."

"Well, that's natural. I think everyone feels that way 'cause the sad truth is, it happens a lot when it doesn't have to. Maybe you should have someone see how she feels about it, so that you'll know whether or not to move forward, or to stay where you're at now."

"Yeah, I was thinking about that. I guess Claire could do it when they go shopping tomorrow, but I can't help feeling like...what if she doesn't like me at all? And what then? I'll just keep burying myself in these feelings and thoughts I've got for her, and they'll just swallow me alive."

Leon stroked his chin. "If you think that would happen, and if she doesn't have feelings for you, then you should just tell her. Don't pressure her or anything, like acting like you wanna be in a relationship. Just tell her that you've been thinking about her for a long time, and that you think that nothing good will come out of you keeping your feelings in the dark." He said finally. Chris nodded and sighed. "Yeah, I guess that's the best I can do. Thanks for your help." He said, standing up.

"No prob." Leon said, reaching to turn off the lamp as Chris opened the door. "Ok, night man." Chris said, closing the door behind him. The door to Claire's room was closed, and the bathroom door was as well. So, Chris cleared a space in front of the couch and pulled the bed out. There was a sheet already on the mattress, so he just took some pillows from the couches and tossed them down.

The door to the bathroom opened, and Jill stepped out, fully dressed mind you. Chris looked up from his duffel bag and smiled. "I would have helped you take care of it you know." Jill said, nodding towards the bed. Chris shrugged it off and pulled his nightclothes from his bag. "Don't worry about it. I'm gonna go get changed, then I'm going to sleep." He replied, heading to the bathroom.

While toweling her hair, Jill sat on the left side of the bed and looked out the window. There was a gentle breeze, making the summer heat a little more bearable. Chris emerged from the bathroom shyly, and hurried over to the other side of the bed. "I-if this is a problem for you at all, I can sleep on the small couch. I don't want you to be uncomfortable." He said, thanking himself for bringing a pair of boxers that was completely closed in the front.

"Ah, it's no big deal. We technically sleep next to each other at home, just in different beds. The only difference is that there's no floor between us." Jill replied, shaking her bangs out of her eyes. Chris nodded and turned off the lamp on his side of the bed. A short while later, Jill did too and she climbed under the sheets and adjusted her pillows.

There was an uncomfortable awkwardness between the two, so Jill decided to say something. "So how do you think Claire's doing?" she asked quietly. 

"Eh...I don't know. It's been up and down really." Chris replied.

"Well, I hope I can help out at least." Jill murmured.

"I'm sure you will. It just takes time, you know?"

"Yeah, that's true. Is there anything in specific you wanted me to do with her?"

"Huh? Oh, uh..not especially. She did want to go shopping, though. She hasn't been able to because of Steve and all. I'm sure she'd like to get some summer clothes, not just jeans and tee-shirts."

"It will probably take awhile for her to want to show her body though. But at least she'll have them when she's ready, anyway."

"Yeah. Thanks for coming Jill...I know it means a lot to Claire. And it means a lot to me too."

Their eyes met briefly, before Jill smiled and nodded. "I know...and you don't have to give me anything. I was just testing you." She said, relieving Chris slightly. "Really? I don't want you to feel like you're just missing out of work being here..." Chris replied, turning on his side to face Jill. "Chris, if she knew that you bribed me into coming here, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I can get a new gun some other time. Besides, we get to hang out for once not worrying about Umbrella or anything." She answered, remaining on her back.

"Well, I can't say that I'm not relieved. My paycheck is gone, what with the plane ticket and all. I just can't buy anything for awhile." Chris said, with a sigh.

"If you need some financial aid, don't hesitate to ask." Jill said with a wink.

"Jill..."

"What? I don't want you to be broke, Chris. You never know what can happen, or when you'll need some money."

"Yeah, but I won't take it from a woman. Damn, that sounded bad. What I mean is-"

"You don't want hand-outs, got it. But if you're down to your last Hot Pocket and are dying of hunger with only fifty cents or francs or what ever currency we use at the time, I want you to be able to come to me."

Chris smiled and closed his eyes. "I'll think about it. It's not easy for guys to bum people for cash, especially me. It makes me feel worthless, and like a low-life." He nearly had a heart attack when he felt Jill's hand on his cheek. "I already know that you're a wonderful person, Chris. You've proven that to me without showing me how big your wallet is." She whispered. Nodding slightly, Chris felt Jill's hand leave his cheek, and her body turn to face the windows.

Gaining a remarkable amount of courage, Chris shifted his pillows next to Jill's and wrapped his arm around her body. He felt her stiffen slightly as his arm adjusted to being right beneath her breasts. "Please...just let me hold you." He whispered into her hair. Nodding slightly, Jill moved her hand so she could hold Chris'. In a state of nervous happiness, Chris and Jill fell asleep.

TBC


	9. New Horizons 9

New Horizons, IX

By: Hotaru

Warnings: Steve bashing, abuse, strong language, trying to fix the new speaking/paragraph things.

~^~

Leon and Claire stared at the sight before them. "We should take a picture." Claire whispered. "I have an old Polaroid that the station couldn't use any more. Instant memories." Leon replied with a devilish grin. He disappeared into his room and rummaged around in his closet before emerging with a camera. "It looks ancient." Claire remarked.

"Shh, you'll wake them up." Leon whispered back, walking in front of the bed and pushing the button in. "Get a closer one." Claire told him, reaching for the first picture. Leon moved to the other side of the bed and took another picture and handed it to Claire. "Anything else?" Leon asked. Claire thought for a moment. "Get a pic of his arm." She said finally. 

Leon wrinkled his brow. "His arm?" He asked. Claire sighed exasperatedly and pointed to Chris' arm, which was pushing Jill's breasts upwards. "Ohhhh, that's a good one." Leon said, leaning in for the shot. Chuckling slightly, Leon and Claire went into Leon's room and laid the pictures on his bed to develop. "I wonder what they did…" Claire mused as the pictures slowly came into focus. "I didn't hear anything last night…you?" Leon replied.

Claire shook her head, and the two jumped as they heard voices. They went to Leon's doorway and listened in. "What time is it?" Chris asked.

"Um…quarter after ten-ish." Jill replied.

"Oh. You sleep well?" Chris continued.

"Yeah. You?"

"Mm-hm. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

"Huh? Oh right. No actually…it made me feel better. All that worrying I did when you were gone must have fried my nerves or something."

"I'm glad. You think they're awake already?"

"I don't know.."

Leon emerged from his room and grinned. "Morning you two! Great day, isn't it?" He asked cheerfully. Chris immediately shifted away from Jill and smiled shakily. "Sure is. Let's just hope it doesn't get too hot." He said, climbing off the bed. Leon winked at Jill, who looked shocked and frightened. "I hope it was comfortable last night." Leon said, frightening the two. "Huh? W-what do you mean?" Chris asked.

"The bed. And the temperature. Some times it can get cold in here if the A.C. is on all night, but if you turn it off, it gets hot really quick." Leon said innocently. Chris and Jill breathed a sigh of relief. "It was a little chilly, but a nice break from being horribly humid and hot." Jill said, climbing out from under the sheet. Leon nodded and headed into the kitchen and quickly stuck a picture he had taken under a magnet.

Chris went into the bathroom, and Jill busied herself taking care of the bed, so Claire ran into her room and went into the living room a second later. "Morning everyone." She said, smiling at Jill and heading into the kitchen. "Morning." Jill answered, folding the bed back up. Claire snickered at the picture on the refrigerator and shook her head. 

"Hey Claire, what time did you want to go shopping?" Jill called from in the living room. Claire walked into the dining area and shrugged. "I guess we could go early to beat the crowds." She replied. Jill nodded, and Chris emerged from the bathroom. "Morning." He greeted his sister, purposely ignoring Jill. He sat down at the table and let his head fall backwards. Claire went into the kitchen and poured herself a bowl of Wheat Chex. They weren't the best tasting cereal out there, but at least they were healthy.

Jill, who had just entered the kitchen and saw the picture, hung her head in embarrassment. She pulled it from underneath the magnet and tossed it to Chris. Groaning slightly, Chris turned the picture over. "So what happened last night?" Leon asked, joining Chris and Claire at the table. Jill immediately intervened. "Nothing happened." She should have said something more but there wasn't really a way to explain it without receiving an un-fair amount of teasing.

Leon and Claire obviously wouldn't accept that answer. "Ok, here's how it went down. I wanted to hold Jill because my arms felt empty, so I held her and it was okay." Chris said finally. Both Claire and Jill let out an adoring "Aw" while Leon narrowed his eyes and whispered, "You sly devil, you." Chris couldn't help but smile. He liked the thought of being with Jill after all.

"Anyway, we should get going soon, Claire." Jill said, trying to turn the attention away from her and Chris. "Sure. Let me get changed and get Katie ready." Claire replied, getting up from the table after finishing her bowl of cereal. Jill went into the bathroom to change, leaving Leon and "Sly Devil" Chris alone. "So tell me everything." Leon said.

Chris raised his eyebrows. "Jesus, Leon! You're so eager!" he said. Leon grinned. 

"Ok, basically, we talked for awhile about how Claire's doing. Then, she rolled to one side and I took a deep breath, moved my pillows next to hers and wrapped my arm around 'er. She tensed up at first but I asked her to just let me hold her and she said ok." Chris explained lowly.

Leon chuckled lightly to himself. "That's great, that you could take a step forward like that. Did she say anything?" he asked. Chris shook his head. "She held my hand, and that's good enough for me." He replied, standing up from the table as Jill emerged from the bathroom. "So what are you guys going to do today?" She asked, looking in the refrigerator for some breakfast. 

Chris and Leon shrugged. "Guy stuff? Take a trip to the batting cages, get some ice cream, flex your muscles?" Jill offered. 

"A trip to the batting cages sounds good." Leon remarked.

"Haven't been to one in years." Chris said. "But ice cream and the muscle flexing I'll have to pass on."

Jill giggled and looked up at Chris. "What, you're too big for some ice cream?" She teased. Chris smiled down at her in a daze. "No…"

"It's gonna be ninety degrees today, get some ice cream punk." Jill persisted.

"And what if I don't…?" 

"I'll force you, one way or another."

Leon chuckled to himself and patted Chris on the back. "We'll figure it out when it happens." He said, heading to his room. Claire emerged from the bathroom, ready to go. "I have no money." She reported. Leon emerged from his room with the envelope full of cash. "My boss gave me some extra money to pay for anything you might need while you're here." He said, pulling out some money and handing it to Claire. "Is it out of your paycheck or anything?" She asked worriedly.

"No. I think it was from Good Will or a charity or something. He wasn't too clear on the specifics, or at least I don't remember him being too clear. Anyway, that should be plenty." Leon replied.

"And I have some money too, in case you run out." Jill piped in with a smile. Claire smiled inwardly, happy that so many people care about her. "Thanks. Well, I guess we can go now." She said gratefully. 

Chris and Leon stood in the doorway and waved as the two woman walked down the hallway towards the elevator. "So what are we going to do?" Chris asked, heading back inside the apartment. "What ever you wanna do. We could go to the movies, escape the heat for awhile." Leon suggested. Chris nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. I hear 'Signs' is really good." He said.

Leon shrugged. "That sounds fine. It may seem weird, but I get this kind of high when I'm scared. That's what a life altering hell will do to you!" he continued, heading to the phone to get the movie times. Chris in the meantime prepared some breakfast. "Ok, the closest showing is at 12:45. We could grab some lunch out there before the movie starts." Leon said, hanging up the phone. Chris nodded. "But what about the time between now and then?" He asked, milk dribbling down his face.

"Uh…well I guess we shouldn't go to the batting cages right before the movies. We'd be sweating like hogs and stinking twice as bad." Leon said.

"Are you man enough to play miniature golf?" Chris asked.

"Mini-golf? You can't be serious." He said, leaning against the wall.

"I only asked if you were man enough. You don't have to, I was only making a suggestion."

Frowning slightly, Leon shrugged. "I dunno. Two guys and miniature golf. I can't help but imagine that we'd be thought as gay." He said. Chris chuckled slightly and brought his bowl to the sink and washed it. "That's true I guess. We could always do that with Claire and Jill some other time. Is there an arcade around here?" he asked. 

"Yeah. It's on the opposite side of town from the movie theatre. You wanna do that?" Leon replied. Chris nodded. "I'm gonna kick your ass so bad." Chris boasted. Leon shook his head. "Nah, you won't. I'll have more lollipops and tootsie rolls than you can imagine." He countered. Chris chuckled slightly. "At least we'll have candy for the movies."

~^~

Claire, Katie and Jill wandered down the streets, looking in the windows of the store they would pass by. "Ooh.." Jill murmured, stopping in front of what looked like a candy store. "You can't be serious." Claire remarked as Jill went for the door. "Ah, come on! We'll just get some Swedish Fish and Jawbreakers and we'll leave, ok?" Jill said, motioning to the door. 

"Alright, fine." Claire said, finally heading into the store. Ten minutes, and five dollars later, Jill and Claire emerged from the store with heavy brown paper bags. "I have to carry this the whole time?" Claire asked, holding up her bulging bag. "No one told you to buy two pounds of fish." Jill replied, popping a Jawbreaker into her mouth. Claire laughed, a genuine laugh for once. 

"There's a clothing store across the street. Wanna go there?" Jill asked. Claire shrugged. They crossed the street and headed into the store. "May I help you ladies?" A saleswoman asked. Jill and Claire shook their heads, and just looked around. "Aw, sweaters." Claire said, stopping at a shelf full of them. "They're on sale, too." She continued, holding one up.

Jill looked out at the visible heat outside. "No wonder. Why don't you buy a couple?" She asked. Claire shrugged. "I don't know…" She murmured. Jill grabbed a few and thrust them into Claire's arms. "Go ahead, indulge yourself for once!" She said, as they continued around the store. 

When they were through, there were three bags of clothes for Claire. "You want to head home?" Claire asked, nearly melting as they left the air-conditioned store. Jill nodded and they headed back to the car. "I bet those sweaters are going to come in handy today, huh?" Jill asked sarcastically. Claire smiled and shut the trunk. "Oh yeah, it's getting colder by the minute." She replied, climbing into the car, which was terribly hot.

Jill snickered and started the car up. "I'm hungry." She announced. "Oh, that's right, you didn't have breakfast." Claire replied, a moment later. Pulling out into the street, Jill asked, "Is it ok if we stop somewhere to eat? I doubt the boys'll be home yet." Claire shrugged. "Sure, it's fine. I haven't been eating much lately, and I'm starting to feel it." She replied.

Cranking up the radio, Jill drove around town, looking for a good place to eat. "There!" She announced, pointing at an outdoor café. Pulling into a parking spot that had been empty for nearly a minute, Jill turned off the car and the two climbed out. "At least we can sit in the shade." Claire said, nodding at the large red and white umbrellas that were at every table. 

"You want anything?" Jill asked as Claire sat down at a table. "Uh…a milkshake." Claire replied with a smile. "That's it?" Jill asked. Claire nodded and folded her hands in front of her face. She watched the people that passed by—happy couples, single women, single men, little old women with silver walkers, children who were too young to be alone…

~^~

TBC


	10. New Horizons 10

New Horizons, X

By: Hotaru

Warnings: Steve bashing, abuse, strong language

~^~

"I kicked your ass!" Leon boasted as they walked away from the arcade with a bag full of candy and a ring he decided to give to Claire. "I haven't been to an arcade for…nearly ten years! You had an advantage, that's all." Chris retorted. Leon snickered and popped a tootsie roll into his mouth. "So what do you want to do now?" He asked.

Chris shrugged. "I just realized that the girls don't have a key." He stated, looking into the clear blue sky. Leon chewed silently and swallowed. "That's true. You wanna go into town looking for them?" He asked, in all seriousness. Chris laughed slightly. "Well…I don't know. You know this town more than me. Wouldn't it take forever to find them?" he asked.

Leon shook his head. "There's a shopping district in the middle of the city, and that's about it. There's some department stores and the likes but they're too far away really." He explained. Chris shrugged as they arrived at Leon's car. "Alright then. We'll take a drive through town, and if we can't find 'em, we'll just go back to my place, where I can further kick your ass with the videogame of your choice." Leon said, pulling his door open.

Chris shook his head. "I'm sorry that I have a job protecting innocent civilians from a major evil organization that has wreaked havoc on four separate occasions." He said. Leon shook his head. 

"I'm a cop, Chris, a cop. Put my life on the line for the innocents every day! Besides, I was in Raccoon too, I did my thing." He said suavely, heading to the shopping district.

They looked around, through the shop windows, but Claire and Jill were nowhere in sight. "Maybe they went to eat someplace?" Chris suggested. Leon shrugged, and they drove around until they spotted the two at an outdoor café. "Hey ladies!" Chris called as they pulled to a stop in front of the café. Jill looked up from her salad and shook her head with a sigh.

Leon and Chris climbed out of the car and jumped over the café's fence. "We were gonna head to a movie, but then we realized you don't have a key." Leon explained as they pulled up two chairs. "Did you make one?" Claire asked, sipping from a melted milkshake. "No. That would have been a good idea. But you wanna go with us?" Leon offered. Claire was feeling uncomfortable, thinking about going on a date so soon. 

"All four of us, an alien invasion, nice cool air conditioning. What could be better?" Chris asked, trying to convince the two women. "I don't know, Chris." Claire said, stirring her milkshake with her straw. "Ah, come on! I've heard great things about "Signs". It'll be fun." Leon said enthusiastically.

With a sigh, Claire agreed. "Alright, I guess. But won't it be too scary for Katie? She's only a baby." She murmured. "That's true…I guess we can't go." Leon said disappointedly. Claire frowned apologetically. 

"You guys can always go. I don't want to ruin your fun." She suggested. Leon shook his head. 

"I'm not leaving you alone. You never know what that asshole will try." He said firmly.

"Then I guess it's just you and me." Chris said, turning to Jill. She blushed slightly and nodded. "I guess so. We could always take care of Katie if you guys wanted to go anywhere later anyway." She said to Leon and Claire. Jill finished up her salad and she and Chris went to one car, and Leon, Katie and Claire went to the other. "See you guys later." Leon called, pulling his door open.

~^~

"Thanks for offering to stay with me. I'll have to admit I'd be a little weary all by myself." Claire said, buckling Katie into her car seat.

"Oh, it's no problem. Besides, Chris and Jill need some time alone." Leon replied.

Claire smiled and wondered why she hadn't realized how handsome Leon was before. "So what'd you buy?" He asked.

"Huh? Oh, um…some sweaters, a sun dress, pants, shirts, that's about it." Claire replied.

"A sun dress. I bet it'll look great on you."

/Oops. Shouldn't have let that slip out/ Leon thought worriedly. But Claire remained silent, unsure how to react. "Um..do you…like me, Leon?" She stammered. Leon began to sweat nervously. 

"Well, I can't lie to ya Claire. I think you're really great, and well yeah…I do like ya." His eyes remained fixated on the road, but Claire could tell he was trying not to look nervous or antsy.

"I uh…don't know what to say." Claire said quietly.

"Don't say anything. The last thing you need right now is a relationship or guilty feelings towards me or anything. I probably shouldn't have told you but I didn't want to lie to you either."

"Yeah, I understand. But you've helped me so much, through all of this, Leon. I don't want to keep you waiting…"

"Don't worry about it. There isn't a bunch of girls in line for me, anyway."

"Aw, don't say that Leon. You're great. I'm sure if you got out more, a lot of girls would like you."

"Ah, I get out plenty with the job. But everyone I stop to talk to is either a witness, or a criminal or a co-worker. It's not the greatest job to meet people. But there have been advances made."

"Yeah?"

"Well, sometimes people get worked up in relief when a case is solved, that they compliment me or ask me to dinner. I've never actually gone out with anyone but I have a stack of numbers at home that I don't think I'll ever call."

"Then why do you still have them?"

"To impress people I guess."

Leon chuckled and pulled into the parking lot. "Well, I like you too Leon." Claire said quickly, getting out of the car. Pausing, Leon smiled and left the car too. "Thanks. But take your time alright? I'll wait an eternity for you, if I have to." He said as Claire pulled Katie from her car seat. "Thanks Leon. I don't think I could handle pressure right now. This is the most I've talked in a while." She replied.

"Great. Let's get out of this heat, ah?" Leon said, heading into the building quickly. 

~^~

They played with Katie for a while, and turned on some Sesame Street for her. "I can't stand another minute of this." Claire murmured, getting up and heading into Leon's room. "Hey! Where are you going?" He asked, jumping up from his seat. He made sure Katie was still enraptured by the t.v. before following Claire. "I want to see your room. Wow, a lot of awards." She said, looking up at a wall.

"Ah, not really. Just community stuff. I tried to bury myself in work, and charity and volunteering to get my mind off of things. Raccoon, I mean." Leon explained, sitting down on his bed.

"I did that too. But it got to the point where I was so exhausted that I could barely stay awake. Then Steve showed up and he forced me to quit work and everything. Instead I cleaned at home, and did laundry except I never got paid." Claire replied solemnly, joining Leon.

"What happened while you were living together? There had to be some good times, right?"

"Sort of. Like I've told you before, when he first came back, I was so…amazed that he was alive, I let him right in, let him stay over. I tried to get him to look for a job but he just stayed home at watched t.v. Pretty soon, he got depressed and turned to alcohol. It made him feel better but the truth was still there. He stopped going outside, turned pale…he was like a bat or something you know?"

"That's strange. Did he ever do things that didn't make sense? Or did he go places and not tell you?"

"Sometimes. He'd act like he was really out of it. Not like he was high, or drunk or anything…but like he had just been dropped in the middle of God knows where."

"Like a deer in headlights?"

"Mm-hmm."

Leon stroked his chin. "You know, Jill and Chris think that Umbrella might still be conducting experiments on him. Maybe he was given a strong dose of sedative or something, so it looked like he was dead, that way they could experiment on him without circumstances or the police…though I doubt they'd help." He offered.

"Umbrella!? I never thought about that." Claire said incredously.

"I think we should send Jill undercover to visit Steve in jail, try and get some information on him. We may even get some evidence about what he did to you too."

"Wow…I don't know how well that would work…"

"We'll figure out the details later."

"That's fine. You know…in the back of my mind, I always wondered what would happen to Katie. Steve was infected with the T-Veronica virus when he 'died'. Do you think that he was vaccinated so they could inject him with different viruses to see what happened? Cause I don't want anything to happen to her."

"That's a good point. She may very well be infected in some way. I don't want to worry you but…we have to take all possibilities into account."

Claire covered her face with her hands. "I can't believe it. My poor baby might be infected. What are we going to do!?" She moaned. Leon wrapped an arm around her and sighed. "We'll figure something out."

~*~

"That was so freaking scary." Jill said with a shiver as she and Chris emerged from the movie theatre. Chris wrapped his arm around her shoulders and grinned.

"Maybe a little. You were squeezing my hand so hard I could barely concentrate."

"Sorry about that. It's been awhile since I've seen a really scary movie, though."

"What, Raccoon wasn't enough for ya?"

"Yeah, but I wasn't allowed to be scared during that! I had to be tough, and stay focused so I'd come out alive."

"That's true."

They arrived at the car and headed back to Leon's apartment, with the cool night air ventilating through the car. "I had fun." Chris stated, staring at the road ahead. Jill lifted her head off her arm and looked at him. "Me too. We haven't been on vacation in so long..I forgot what it felt like." She remarked.

"What?" Chris questioned.

"This…freedom. Knowing that you won't have to wake up early the next day, being able to do things on a whim without worrying about the consequences."

"Ah…haven't felt like that since college."

"Frat boy?"

"Not quite."

"Yeah, whatever." Jill said with a laugh.

They arrived back at Leon's apartment, and were surprised to find Katie alone in the living room. "Wonder where they are." Jill said, picking Katie up from the floor. Chris looked in Claire's room briefly before glaring at Leon's closed door. "If he tried anything—"

Shoving the door open, Chris sighed deeply to find Claire and Leon asleep, with their clothes on. Jill ran over to the door and pinched Chris. "Oh relax, Chris! Leon wouldn't try anything with Claire at a time like this." She said, as he glared at them for a little longer. "So…what do you want to do?" Jill asked, glancing at the cable box.

Chris shrugged. "I'm gonna take a shower." He said, turning to go into the bathroom. Jill smirked and pulled a book out of one of her bags before settling down on a couch for a good read.

TBC


	11. New Horizons 11

New Horizons, XI  
By: Hotaru  
Warnings: Steve bashing, strong language, RE: Code Veronica spoilers, AND masturbation  
  
~^~  
  
Chris thought intently about Jill as the hot water rolled down his body. /Every free second I have, I think about her. Her body…her lips…mhm./ Rubbing his face roughly, Chris turned off the water and dried and dressed quickly. He went out into the living room and joined Jill on the couch. She was engrossed with the book she was reading, and barely noticed him.  
  
With a silent sigh, Chris let his head fall back and his eyes close. A little while later, he felt arms pulling him to the side. "Jill?" he questioned incredously as she pulled him into a kiss. She merely moaned in response and began to un-button her pajama top. Chris pulled his shirt off quickly and went for Jill's bra. She groped his member gingerly, and began un-buttoning his shorts."Are you s-sure about this?" Chris questioned as Jill began to remove her shorts too. She smiled and nodded and removed her panties.   
  
Bolting up right, Chris opened his eyes and looked over at Jill. She was dressed and looked up from her book. "Chris? Are you okay?" She asked, knitting her brows. Chris nodded weakly and jumped up from the couch and ran into the bathroom to finish what his dream started.   
  
Leaning against the wall, his hand fumbled around to flush the toilet, and he splashed some cold water on his face. He briefly stared at his reflection before sliding down the wall and onto the floor. He couldn't leave that room until he was back to normal. Jill knocked on the bathroom door. "Chris? You ok?" She asked. "Yeah..just felt a little sick though." Chris replied weakly.  
"  
Can I come in?" Jill asked, turning the doorknob. Chris sighed and un-locked the door.  
"Yeah."   
Jill stepped into the bathroom and sat down on the covered toilet seat. "You were sweating like crazy back there." She remarked.  
"Yeah. Bad dream I guess." Chris replied dully.  
  
Fetching a washcloth from under the sink, Jill wet it and pressed it against Chris' head. "Thanks." He replied, squeezing his eyes shut painfully.  
"No problem. Want me to run down to the store to get you some ginger ale?"  
"What for?"  
"My mom used to give me ginger ale all the time when I was feeling sick."  
"Oh. Nah, I'm alright. I just feel really…drained, you know?"   
"Maybe you should go to bed."  
  
Chris got up from the floor and nodded, padding into the living room. "I'll wake up Leon and Claire. Set up the bed, ok?" Jill said, pausing at Leon's door. Chris nodded, and Jill went into Leon's room. Claire had rolled over to one side and was clutching a pillow for dear life. Leon was on his back with an arm thrown over his face, the other hanging off the end of the bed.   
"Psst." Jill hissed, climbing in between the two. Leon stirred slightly. "PSST!" Jumping up, Leon pulled a gun from God knows where.   
"What! What?!" he exclaimed, looking around the room.   
"Leon, relax, it's me." Jill said, lowering his firearm. Leon blinked a few times before returning his gun.   
"Sorry." He apologized, rubbing his eyes. Jill smirked and climbed off the bed.   
"So what happened?" She asked.  
  
Leon looked at Claire, and then at his watch. "We were talking for awhile, about Steve, and getting information from him and stuff. I guess we must have fallen asleep." He replied. Jill nodded and went back into the living room.   
"What'd she say about Steve? I mean, about our hypothesis about Steve?" She asked, sitting down at the kitchen table.   
"It sounded like Steve was acting pretty strange while they were together. He'd kind of…emerge from a black out and have no idea where he was. And he would go out with out telling her where sometimes too." Leon explained.  
"Sounds like he was going to Umbrella to me." Jill said angrily.  
"She's real worried about Katie being infected with a virus too."  
"I wonder if she could be."  
"It all depends. I would think that if it was the T-virus or something, that she wouldn't have made it after a few days. But she seems pretty healthy so far."  
"That's true."  
"We'll have to send you in to see Steve. You can act like you're there to see your boyfriend or dad or something, but talk to him instead. Flirt, squeeze information out of him. Stuff like that."  
"Sounds like fun."  
"I bet. I'll get approval from my boss, and a wire and recorder so if he admits to abusing Claire, we'll have proof so he'll be locked up."  
  
Jill nodded and stretched. "I'm beat." She announced. She stood up from the table and went over to the living room. "Night Jill." Leon called, rubbing his face tiredly. "Night Leon." Jill replied, climbing into bed beside Chris.  
  
~^~  
  
A couple days later, Leon was given the green light by his boss to send Jill undercover. Chris, Claire and Leon were making the final touches on Jill before they dropped her off at prison. "So, do I look like trailer-trash?" Jill asked, as Chris dabbed some more eye shadow on her eyelids.   
"Yes, you do. All we need is a cigarette behind your ear." Chris replied teasingly.  
"Ok, that's it. Go take a quick look in the mirror, and we can go." Leon said, standing up right and dusting his hands off. Jill went into the bathroom momentarily, and made sure that the wire wasn't visible. "Ok, all set?" She asked, joining the trio. They then headed outside and began the drive to prison.   
  
"So here's how it's gonna be. There's a room where people can talk to inmates, I'm sure you've seen it on t.v. and everything, but anyway, you go in and walk around for a while, looking for your ex-boyfriend who was arrested for armed robbery. Hopefully, Steve will make the first move, but if not, just sit down in front of him and take it from there. The rest, we've been over. You all set?" Leon explained.  
Jill nodded and soon thereafter, they arrived at the jailhouse. "Ok, there's going to be an Officer Harrison waiting for you in the lobby. He'll take you down." Leon said, turning the car off. Jill climbed out of the car, and leaned in through the window for any last advice.   
  
"Do good work Jill." Chris said.   
"I will. Is the recorder set up?" Jill replied. Leon, who had went to the backseat, gave her a thumbs up.  
"When you get inside, just say something so we know it's working." He said. Nodding, Jill headed into the building in a plaid mini skirt and a tube-top.   
  
A little while later, they heard Jill speak. "I'm looking for an Officer Harrison." The three in the car leaned to the recorder intently.  
"I'm officer Harrison. Right this way." A male voice replied. There were footsteps, stairs, and more voices.  
"How long do I have?" Jill asked.  
"Half hour to an hour. Depends how the warden feels." Harrison replied. "Ok, here it is." he continued, a door opening with a resounding 'bzzzt'.  
  
There was silence, while Jill walked around, until the distinctive voice of Steve came through to the car. "You look lost."  
"Hum? Oh yeah. My jackass ex-boyfriend got arrested and told me to come down here to talk to him. But I guess he forgot." Jill said, accenting her voice slightly.  
"Same here. They said a lawyer'd be talking to me."  
"I guess it's just you and me then, huh babe?"  
"Sure. So what's your name, doll face?"  
Chris gritted his teeth. /First he rapes my sister, then he flirts with Jill? How many more reasons are you gonna give me to rip his head off!?/  
"Angel." Jill lied.  
"Fits you perfectly. I'm Steve."  
"Steve huh? So what are you in for?"  
"Shit."  
"I didn't know that was illegal."  
"The charges are shit, I mean. See, my girl says that I raped her. But that ain't how it is at all."  
"No?"  
"No. I fucked her raw."  
  
Claire jumped out of the car, and speed walked around the parking lot a few times. /I won't let him get to me. I won't let him get to me. I can't let him do this to me. He made my life hell for long enough. I can't let this bother me. He can say what he wants, and it will convict him. He'll be locked up and won't bother me ever again./  
Chris caught up with her a little while later, when she had sat under the shade of a tree. "Hey." He said, sitting down beside her.   
  
"Hi." Claire replied.   
"You can't let him get to you like this."  
"I know. I just didn't want to hear anymore."  
"That's understandable. But if you're going to testify in court, you can't just run out when he says something like that. Be strong, Claire. I know you are."  
"I need a drink."  
"Ah, ah, no you don't. Come on back to the car now. They're not talking about that anymore."  
"Yeah, ok."  
  
Leon smiled at Claire as she got back into the car. "They started talking about Antarctica and Rockfort Island." He informed.  
"So you were in Antarctica? Without a jacket!?" Jill asked, sounding very ditzy.  
"Yeah. Freezing down there."  
"So what happened?"  
"We crashed there. Don't tell anyone, but…I died there."  
"What?"  
"I died. There was this crazy bitch down there, and she injected me with a disease or something, and it made me mutate, I think. But then this worm thing attacked me and I died. But that crazy bitch, she brought me back to life. I think she died, but someone else left me a note from her."  
"What'd it say?"  
"That they'd let me go, only if I promised to come to their labs twice a week so they can find out how I un-morphed myself! Ain't it great?"  
"Yeah! So you were like…a monster?"  
"Yep. Could tear these walls down with a flick of the wrist. They've been paying me so they can perform experiments on me and stuff like that."  
"Wow…"  
"I know. You won't believe how much they paid me to get my girl pregnant. I was supposed to steal her kid, so they could inject her to see how she'd react."  
"Aw, poor kid! What happened? Wouldn't she have any of the viruses they gave you?"  
"Nah, they packed me full of anti-bodies and serums and crap, so she'd be pure. Then, they'd inject her with the same virus they gave me, to see if she could un-morph too."  
"Wow! You're so cool!"  
  
Claire breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Thank God for that." Leon remarked, wiping his brow.   
"I think Jill should get out of there now. Umbrella might find out he leaked information, and want to get Jill." Chris said worriedly.   
"Ok, I'll go in and tell Harrison to bring her back up. Be right back." Leon said quickly.  
"So hopefully he'll be sentenced now that we've got proof." Chris said, breaking the awkward silence.  
"Yeah. I didn't really want to see him again by testifying in court. But like you said, I've got to get over this." Claire replied.  
"Mm-hmm."  
"So, did you have fun at the movies?"  
"Yeah, I guess."  
"Did she hold your hand?"  
Chris glared back at his sister. "Yes, she was scared if that's what you mean." He said. Claire shook her head and looked out the window.   
"Want to go to a park later?" She asked a little while later. Chris shrugged and played with Katie.   
"If you want." He replied.   
"It's been a few days since we went, and I don't want Katie to be in a stuffy apartment all day."   
"Sure, that's fine I guess. It'll be hot though."  
"There's plenty of trees. We'd be in the shade most of the time so you don't have to worry about it."  
"That's true."  
  
A little while later, Leon and Jill entered the car. "Great job, Jill. I knew you could do it." Chris congratulated.   
"Thanks, Chris. It wasn't hard getting information out of the little prick at all." Jill replied.  
Leon turned off the recorder and started the drive home. "And that information on Umbrella, we hit gold." Chris remarked.  
"Sure is. I'll let headquarters know about it asap. But I'm going to wait until we go back before they get the actual recording." Jill said, buckling herself in.  
"Yeah. You never know what Umbrella will do to stop that information from being leaked."  
"I can't believe he just blurted it all out. You'd think there was a confidentiality agreement or something. But he probably was just trying to impress me."  
"Stupid ass." Claire muttered, shifting in her seat.  
Leon turned on the radio and stuck his arm out the window with a sigh. "Do you guys want to come to the park with us?" Claire asked.  
"Ah, Claire, it's so hot." Leon moaned.  
"I'll go." Jill offered.  
  
Claire glared at Leon briefly. "Fine, you stay at home then. I just thought it'd be a nice way for us all to get to know each other a little better. Besides, Katie needs fresh air, Leon." She huffed. With a small roll of the eyes, Leon sighed.   
"Fine, I'll go but I'm getting ice cream from every damn truck that passes." He warned. Claire smiled with satisfaction.   
"Just let me run into your apartment to get some things for her, ok?" She asked.   
"Yeah, sure. Grab me a bottle of water from the fridge while you're up there." Leon replied, exiting the highway.  
"Any other requests?" Claire asked with a sarcastic grin.  
"I'd like a pool, please." Chris said.  
"And a ton of watermelons." Jill piped in.  
  
Leon rolled his eyes again, and drove into his apartment parking lot. "I'll be right back." Claire said, climbing out of the car.  
"So she's doing well." Leon remarked.  
"Yeah. I was worried that she'd be on that couch forever." Chris said.  
"I hope I'm helping by being here." Jill said, looking at the cars passing by.  
"You are, trust me. Even though she may not show it, she's probably relieved to have another girl around." Chris said reassuringly.  
"That's good. How long are you staying around?" Jill asked Chris.  
"I don't know. A few more days, depends on how long she wants me here." He replied. "What about you?"  
"No clue. I want to get this information to the boss right away, but I don't want to leave too early." Jill replied.  
"Speaking of information and bosses, I have to get this tape to my boss." Leon interrupted.  
"What about the information about Umbrella? I need that!" Jill exclaimed.  
"You'll get your tape! I'll let him know that you need a copy of it, and explain how you helped and what not. Don't worry." Leon said re-assuringly.  
  
~^~  
  
At the park, Chris and Jill sat on a pair of swings, and Leon, Claire, and Katie headed for a sandbox. "So how was work before you left?" Chris asked, scuffing the dry, dirt ground with the tip of his shoes.  
"Fine. Carlos was a little mad that you just up and went without so much as a word. He was even more pissed when I decided to go, seeing how we were short handed as it was." Jill replied, swinging gently back and forth.  
"Ah, he's always got a problem with someone."  
"But hopefully this will give us some leads on Umbrella."  
"Yeah, that'd be great. All the anonymous tips we've received have been just a waste of gas and time."  
"That's true. We've been on too many wild-goose chases. It's hard to take our jobs seriously when it's like this."  
"Yeah. But when we finally take 'em down, it'll all be worth it."  
  
Chris looked over and gave Jill a genuine smile. She couldn't help but blush and smile back, before turning her attention to a pair of squirrels. "That's so cute, the way they eat." She remarked.   
"Sure is." Chris replied, kicking himself for not taking advantage of that one moment. He could have told her then, asked her out or just confessed his feelings and gotten it over with. But noooooo, he had to talk about squirrels. Or rather continue her discussion about squirrels. Damn things.  
"Ah, Chris? You okay?" Jill inquired, putting her hand gently on his arm. Chris blushed profusely and tried to talk. "You want a drink of water or something?" Jill asked, leaning closer in worry. Chris could only nod, and follow her to a nearby water fountain. After gulping for a few moments, Chris stood up and wiped the water from his mouth with the back of his hand. "Don't know what happened there." He said, coughing slightly.  
Jill sighed and shook her head. "You worried me. You know, sometimes people who have been blind for most of their lives actually see again because of a brain tumor pushing—"  
  
"Jill! No! I don't have a brain tumor!" Chris interrupted.  
"I know! I'm just saying that maybe it could be something like that..a disorder or something."  
"Oh, a disorder. Why don't you just declare me braindead while you're at it!" Jill smacked Chris on the arm and huffed back over to the swings. "If you're going to be sarcastic, just forget it!" She snapped. Chris ran after her and accidentally pulled her into him. "What are you doing?" She asked worriedly, falling against his chest.  
  
"Sorry, I just didn't want you running away like that. I just would prefer if we stray away from terminal conditions having to do with my momentary lapse of speaking abilities." He replied.  
"Yeah…okay. Sorry. You wanna let me go now?" Jill said worriedly.  
"Not really, but I will."  
  
TBC 


	12. New Horizons 12

New Horizons, XII  
By: Hotaru  
  
Warnings: Steve bashing, strong language, RE: Code Veronica spoilers  
  
  
~^~  
  
  
"Aw, they're so in love." Claire said with a sigh, as she watched Chris and Jill.  
"What makes you say that?" Leon questioned, drawing circles in the sand.  
"It's so obvious. Chris is infatuated with her, but can't get it out and make it be known. Poor Jill is totally clueless."  
"Oh really. Why don't you just see if she likes him?"  
"What for?"  
"Well if she does then all of Chris' noble efforts won't be in vain, right?"  
  
  
Claire shrugged and removed a pointy stick from Katie's hands, and threw it to the side. "So how are you feeling?" Leon asked. Claire shrugged again. "I know I don't want to lapse back into how I was the other day..but I guess I'm okay now." She replied after awhile. Leon reached for one of her hands and held it tightly. "I'm really sorry about all that shit Steve said." He apologized.   
"You have no reason to be sorry. It's my fault for ever falling for him in the first place." She replied, feeling slightly nervous.  
"Don't ever say it's your fault! He's the jackass; he's the liar, not you! Don't ever punish yourself for the things that happened to you." Leon said intently.  
  
A fistful of sand was thrown in Leon's face. "Katie!" Claire exclaimed, grabbing her daughter's hands. Leon dusted the sand from his face and rubbed his eye irritatedly. "Dammit, I'm sorry. I should have realized this would happen sooner or later." Claire apologized, standing up and pulling Katie, who found the whole situation hilarious, out of the sand box. Leon staggered towards the water-fountain Jill and Chris were at just minutes earlier and flushed out his eye. Frowning slightly, Claire took Katie over by the swings. "What happened?" Chris asked. Claire sighed and put Katie in a baby swing and started pushing her.  
  
"Katie thought it was totally imminent that she throw a handful of sand in Leon's face." She replied, as Leon headed over towards then. Jill muffled a giggle. "You alright?" Claire asked, as Leon sat on one of those swings that has two seats facing one another. He nodded, and rubbed his eye again. "Hey Chris, wanna go feed the ducks?" Jill asked suddenly. Leon resisted the urge to smirk, and Chris nodded. "Sure, if you want." He said.  
  
He and Jill went off towards the pond, leaving Claire and Leon alone again. "So when do you think you'll be going back to work?" Claire asked. Leon shrugged. "It's up to you. Do you feel well enough to be by yourself?" he asked, moving to a swing closer to Claire.   
  
"Yeah, I guess so. I know my brother and Jill are eager about going back to work, and I'm sure you are too. I don't want to make anyone upset about wanting them to stay longer." She replied.  
"I'll stay as long as you want me to. Besides, I can always work nights if I start to run out of cash." Leon remarked.  
"But then you'd sleep during the day. It'd be as if you were working days anyway."  
"That's true. But it's all up to you."  
"No, it's up to you." Claire insisted, "You're the one housing four times as many people as you were a month ago, and you're the one paying for everything. It shouldn't be my decision."  
"Sheesh, I didn't know you felt so strongly about it."  
"Well, I'm so used to accommodating other people that I don't care how it affects me. So don't worry about it."  
"Claire…"  
  
Claire pulled Katie from the swing, and started walking nowhere in particular. "Claire, wait! Come on, what's the matter now?" Leon called, the chains of the swing clicking together as his weight was lifted. Instead of letting Leon catch up to her, Claire started to run. /Dammit! What's she doing now?!/ Leon wondered, starting to run after her. The trees began to thicken, and Leon lost sight of Claire. "Shit." He muttered, coming to a halt and leaning against a tree. After catching his breath, he began to look around.  
  
A little while later, he arrived at the lake. Looking around, he spotted Jill and Chris on a bridge that was over the water. "Hey guys..?" Leon called, jogging over to meet them. "Hey Leon. What's the matter?" Jill questioned. Leon sighed and wiped his brow.   
"I don't know where Claire is." He reported. Chris muttered a "dammit", and began to look around nervously.   
"Where was she the last you saw her?" He asked worriedly.  
"We were by the playground, and I guess I made her mad at me, and she started to run away into the woods. Do you think she's around here?" Leon explained.  
  
Jill looked around, and caught sight of the rowboats. "Maybe she's down there?" She suggested. The trio marched on, and were relieved to find Claire and Katie waiting impatiently.   
"Come on, hurry up!" Claire whined, jumping into a boat.   
"Claire, what are you doing!?" Chris asked. Jill pulled him into a boat, after paying the boatman of course.   
"Come on Chris! I haven't ridden on these since I was a kid. It'll be fun!" she urged. Chris groaned and pulled a life jacket on.  
  
"Chris has always been wary of water. Such a baby, ain't he?" Claire explained as the boatman pushed them further onto the lake. "Shut up! I am not!" Chris retorted, pedaling the small watercraft. At first, the two boats stayed together, occasionally bumping into one another, or splashing the passengers. But Chris and Jill's boat turned around and headed to where all the ducklings and swans awaited their daily bread crumbs.   
  
Leon and Claire stopped pedaling briefly and let the water current move the boat. "You know, you really scared me back there." Leon said, squinting at the bright sunlight.   
"Oh, pssht. I know I never would have gotten you or Chris to agree to go on the boats unless I did something drastic. But see, isn't this nice?" Claire replied, leaning back in the plastic chair.   
"Yeah I guess.." Leon replied, trying to ignore the sun that beat down behind them.  
  
"Should I get a job?" Claire wondered out loud.  
"A job?" Leon repeated.  
"Yeah. I haven't worked in so long. I wonder if I still have any skills."  
"I'm sure you do. What was it you did, exactly?"  
"Well…I was a mechanic for a hot minute, but the fumes and men just drove me crazy. Then I was sucked into going to schools and doing crafts and stuff."  
"Yeah?"  
"Mm-hmm. Went to summer camp with the kids, and eventually I was a group leader so to speak. But that all ended."  
"You want to do that again?"  
  
Claire sighed deeply. "No." She admitted, letting her fingers dip into the water. "I don't think I could handle all of that again. Back then…I was different. Energetic and eager."  
"What's changed since then?" Leon questioned.  
"What do you think?! Do you honestly believe that I could spend my summers with teen-aged boys again?! Back then, the flirting was fine and even fun but I'd have to resist the urge to beat them down if that happened!"  
  
The boat rocked slightly at Claire's outburst. "Okay, okay, calm down! I'm not a mind reader, Claire, I don't know what happened back then. You barely tell me anything." Leon said angrily. Claire crossed her arms.   
"I'll tell you when I feel up to telling you." She retorted  
Leon turned to the side and crossed his arms as well. "Look, if not knowing is upsetting you this much, then I'll just tell you." Claire said exasperatedly. Leon turned to her and put his arm on her shoulder.   
  
"No, don't do it like that. I want you to be ready to tell me. I want you to want to tell me." He said firmly. Claire shook free of his grasp and looked away. "Well, like I told you before, it all started a few months after Chris and me escaped from Antarctica. He helped my buy a house that had been seized by the government or something. It didn't matter to me, because it was cheap and something I could afford. Chris helped me pay off most of it and I still owe him. But anyway…at first the house was just plain and boring. I figured that there was no point in making it all pretty if I wasn't going to be home a lot, except when I was sleeping. That's how involved in work I was."  
  
"But then one night, it was raining I think, there was a pounding on the front door. I was scared because I've heard strange noises at night on more than one occasion, so I went and got my gun. I pulled the door open…and there he was. Soaking wet, leaning against the wall. He looked…sickly almost, so I let him in and gave him some dry clothes and offered him some dinner. He made himself right at home—watching t.v., raiding the fridge…he really annoyed me those first few days. I actually had started to work on the house, painting and stuff, and there were already stains on the walls. It's a good thing I didn't put any new carpet down or else it would have been ruined. I tried to scold him, and tell him to clean up his messes, but he'd always just…stare at me like I was asking too much. So I gave in and cleaned up after him."  
  
"Pretty soon, he starting making advances on me. I refused of course and told him that I didn't know a damn thing about him, and that nothing would happen between us until he told me how the hell he was alive. But he just…would flop back on the couch and mutter some insult. And one night…I was uh…in my room after we had had an argument and suddenly he was on top of me. I fought him off for as long as I could but I could barely stay awake, he had hit me on the head so much. He had this sick, twisted, maniacal look on his face that made me want to throw up but he was covering my mouth to muffle my screams."  
  
Leon stopped her then, and hugged her tightly. "Okay…it's ok, you don't have to say any more now." He whispered into her hair. Suddenly, something crashed into them from behind. "What in the hell!?" Leon exclaimed, swirling around in his seat.   
"Aw, did we interrupt?" Chris taunted.  
  
Claire jerked the control stick thingy-mabob and started pedaling towards the other boat. "Come on Leon! We can't let 'em insult us like that!" She exclaimed, roughly wiping away her tears. Leon grinned and they chased Jill and Chris towards the other end of the lake. "What now, big man?" Claire teased, not allowing the other boat to get past them.   
  
Chris reached into the water and splashed some water on Claire and Leon. "Hey!" Claire screamed, shielding her face from the murky water. In a flash, Chris had shoved the other boat away from his, and was pedaling away. "You bastard! I know where you live!" Leon exclaimed, as the two hurried to turn around.   
"I live with you smart-ass!" Chris retorted, pedaling quicker as the other boat came nearer.  
  
~^~  
  
The five returned home, four completely soaked. "Ok, who's gonna shower first?" Leon asked, pulling pond scum from his hair.   
"I guess you should since it's your apartment." Claire replied. Leon smiled warmly and shook his head.   
"Aw, Claire that's so sweet of you. Why don't you go first?" he offered, gently moving her in the direction of the bathroom. Claire smiled, and scampered off, leaving Jill and Chris with scowls on their faces.  
  
"What an ass-kisser!" Chris remarked, shaking his fist.  
"Oh shush! It's obvious why she got to go first, ain't it?" Jill replied.  
"Well yes, but…" Chris said slowly before being interrupted by Leon.   
"Hey hey hey! What are you talking about!?" Leon questioned, pulling off his soaked shirt.  
  
Jill and Chris smiled innocently. "Tell me!" Leon begged.   
"Oh, Leon, don't play stupid. We all know how you feel about her." Jill replied.  
"Aw would you cut it out!? God, I already told her that I like her, and I told you too! What's the point in-in-in all of this!?" Leon questioned, stuttering for the first time in a while.  
"No, it's not quite that. You're just eager to impress her."   
  
Leon sighed deeply and closed his eyes. "Alright, you should talk, Jill. It's plenty obvious that you're in love with Chris, and yet you go day by day, just acting like—"  
"Leon! What the hell are you talking about!?" Jill exclaimed.  
"Maybe you should just tell him now, while we're all here." Leon suggested.  
  
Blushing profusely, Chris escaped into the kitchen. Jill raised her eyebrows, and allowed Leon to go into the kitchen. "What the fuck is wrong with you!?" Chris hissed, pacing back and forth. Leon held up his hands defensively.   
"I'm just trying to help you two along." He said.  
"It isn't helping!! You just embarrassed the shit out of Jill, and she probably thinks that I put you up to it!" Chris retorted.  
"Why would she think that?"  
"Because! Women just..think like that! She's gonna think that I'm like…some pervert and told you to wrench a confession out of her so that I could…I don't know! Do things a pervert would do!"  
  
Leon shook his head, and put his hand on Chris' shoulder. "You're over-reacting, Chris. Look, I'm gonna take a shower now, and you two can talk this little thing out, ok? I'm sorry if I upset you but it's killing me to see you two apart." He replied honestly.  
"It's killing you!? Just…get out of here." Chris replied, waving his hand.  
  
After a while, Chris shuffled into the living room where Jill was standing at the window. "Hey." He said sadly. She looked up, with that look on her face that was just Jill. "What's the matter?" She asked, patting the place next to her on the radiator. Chris slowly walked over and joined her. "I…I don't know. Leon just…well he was being obnoxious." He said, running a nervous hand through his hair.  
  
"Chris, you shouldn't get mad at Leon. He's just trying to play match-maker. He's just like that I guess." Jill replied comfortingly.  
"It's not him I'm worried about…I just think that you like…hate me now or something." Chris said so softly, that Jill could barely hear him.  
"Me? Hate you? Oh Chris, I can't hate you! You-you- you're just too sweet and caring that I—"  
"You what?" Chris asked gruffly.  
  
Jill licked her lips painfully slowly and tilted her head up to meet Chris in a kiss.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
TBC 


	13. New Horizons 13

New Horizons, XIII  
By: Hotaru  
  
Warnings: Steve bashing, strong language, RE: Code Veronica spoilers  
  
~^~   
  
Claire pulled on her pajama's slowly, her legs aching from all the pedaling. Katie lay asleep in her crib, and the sun was just starting to set. Sighing slightly, Claire sat down on her bed and hugged her knees to her chest. /How long has it been since I've had a free moment to think? It was always worry…I was always worrying about what the hell I was going to do, how I would escape Steve's wrath and live a normal life. And now…I guess this can count as normal. I'm living with my friend until I get back on my feet, I don't fear for my life anymore. Well, that's not entirely true. I still can't be free of him. Where ever there is a dark corner, I'll see him there. Watching me, waiting for me to be off my guard./  
  
Sighing deeply, she shook her head and stepped out into the hallway. Luckily she hadn't made a noise, or she would have disrupted the two love-birds. She hid in her room and peeked out into the hall way to watch. She could tell they were both nervous, afraid to touch one another, shaking as they did. Claire shook her head at her older brother who had always acted so experienced and mature. /I guess there are still something's he's afraid of./ She thought with a smirk. They broke their kiss and just gazed at each other. Then Chris said something and pressed his palm against the side of Jill's face.  
  
She smiled and leaned into his hand, closing her eyes mystically. Chris smiled and rested his head ontop of Jill's, and they both sort of rocked back and forth on the radiator. Turning to the room, Claire gathered her dirty clothes and brought them into the hallway, making her presence known. Chris and Jill stayed where they were, so Claire smiled at them and sat down on the couch and put the news on.   
  
"And in local news, a man wanted for murder has turned up dead. Police officials say that he was like a bomb waiting to explode and that we're all lucky that he's no longer endangering himself or others." A depressing reporter announced. Leon emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. "There's some more towels in my closet, Chris or Jill, who ever's going next. I'll get 'em for you." He said, heading into his room. Chris and Jill conversed for a minute before Jill stood up and retrieved the towels from Leon.   
  
The bathroom door closed with a click, and Chris joined Claire on the couch. "You probably shouldn't sit down, you're still wet." Claire warned, an instant before he sat down. "Yeah, you're right. Let me get some newspapers or something." Chris replied, rummaging around before finding a stack of them. "Two weeks old, I'd say he doesn't need these." He said, flopping down on the couch. "So what's up?" Claire asked.  
  
"What do you mean?" Chris replied.  
"What do you mean what do I mean? With Jill." Claire repeated.  
"Oh…nothing. Well, something but nothing really."  
"That makes so much sense Chris."  
"Shut up. I don't really know what's happening. I hope something happens, but I'm not holding my breath."  
"Why? Is something the matter?"  
  
Chris sighed and shifted in his seat. "No, I'm just…ah, you know how it is! It's like, you've cleared the first hurdle of kissing her, now what? I don't want to just go and sleep with her! Doesn't our relationship have to strengthen and stuff?" He questioned.  
"I'm hardly the one you should be asking about relationship advice. But I think that you already have a strong relationship. You both relied on each other in Raccoon, you work together, you live together, you sleep in the same bed. What other bonding is there to do?" Claire replied.  
"I don't know. But it just doesn't seem right if we just go straight to that, you know? I don't want to jump the gun on anything. But…maybe I should find out more about her, you know? Figure out what she likes, what she doesn't, stuff like that."  
"Oh, that boring stuff you talk about on dates? I guess that'd be helpful information. So I guess you don't really know Jill after all."   
  
The door to the bathroom opened a crack and Jill called Claire over. "What's the matter?" Claire asked.  
"I forgot to bring clean clothes in. Can you get them for me?" Jill asked. Claire smiled and nodded and went to retrieve her bag. She found it by the side of the couch and brought it to the other woman. "Thanks." Jill said gratefully, closing the door once again.  
  
"So you feeling better?" Chris asked, pulling his younger sister onto him. "Ew, Chris! You're still dirty!" Claire squealed, pulling away, hoping that her new pajamas wouldn't be ruined.   
"Sorry, sorry. But…are you?" Chris apologized. Claire shrugged and nodded.   
"It's just about clearing hurdles. I've gotten over the whole feeling sorry for myself part. Now I'm just beating myself up about why I couldn't smell the ass on him a mile away." Claire replied. Chris chuckled softly.   
"You were in shock, Claire. And I know you. You wouldn't let someone who was supposed to be dead, wander the streets without a place to go. Remember all those cats and kittens you'd bring home?"  
  
Claire nodded wistfully. There had to be a dozen she begged him to keep. "Poor things. I gave them all false hopes that they'd be loved and cared for. I didn't trust those shelter people, you know." She replied.  
"Well we couldn't keep them all." Chris reminded her.  
"I know! But the one we did keep ended up running away and getting hit by a car."   
"We don't know if that was Honey for sure. There were a lot of strays, and a lof of them looked alike."  
"Yeah…but I just knew it was her. I shouldn't have left my window open."  
"Don't blame yourself, we're over that hurdle, remember? Try and think positive."  
  
Nodding, Claire closed her eyes and let her head fall against the back of the couch. "What about you and Leon?" Chris asked suddenly.  
"What about it?" Claire replied.  
"Well, what's going on with you? Are you going to get together eventually or…what?"  
"I dunno. I guess so but we haven't really discussed it."  
"Yeah? I know he really cares about you."  
"I know."  
  
The door to Leon's bedroom opened and the man of the hour made his appearance. "Hey guys, what's up?" He greeted, flopping onto a couch and turning the t.v. on. "Nothin." Claire replied.   
"What are you putting one?" Chris asked as Leon settled the remote onto a table.   
"Psycho. Great movie. Or movies rather." Leon replied.  
  
  
TBC  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
TBC 


	14. New Horizons 14

New Horizons, XIV  
By: Hotaru  
  
Warnings: Steve bashing, strong language, RE: Code Veronica spoilers  
  
~^~  
  
"Awww, it's black and white!? I want color!" Claire whined when the movie started.  
"Actually, Alfred Hitchcock made it in black and white because he thought it'd be too gory in color." Leon remarked expertly.  
"Aren't you the little bookworm…movie worm..what ever."   
"The first time I saw it, there were little movie facts on the bottom, okay?"  
  
Claire grinned and punched Leon in the shoulder. "Hey, would you two shut up? I'm trying to listen here." Chris demanded. The door to the bathroom opened and Jill emerged. "Hey guys. What's up?" She greeted, sitting on the couch where Chris just got up from.   
"Leon's a nerd." Claire said, interrupting Leon who was about to explain.   
"Oh really? Why's that?" Jill questioned. Chris shook his head and went into the bathroom.   
"Just because I know one thing about the movie, Claire thinks I'm some huge frigging nerd with no life." Leon whined.  
  
"Oh shut up! I never said that! It was a joke, god." Claire retorted.  
"Well you hurt my feelings, okay? I was a nerd all through school and the only reason I wasn't beat up in high school was cause I joined the football team." Leon said.  
"Oh, Leon. C'mon, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it, honest." Claire apologized.  
  
Jill could only shake her head and watch the movie, while trying to ignore Claire and Leon's quiet whispering. Crying from Claire's bedroom interrupted their discussions, and Claire went to check on her baby, and Chris went to take a shower.   
  
"You really want to get back to Europe, don't you?" Leon said as-a-matter-of-fact-ly.   
"Well yes, of course I do. I'm going to lose out on a lot of money and I'll be behind if there are any revelations with our cases. But I can't help but feel like everyone secretly thinks I'm a horrible person for feeling this way." Jill replied.  
"It's understandable, believe me. I'm fretting the day this month's bills arrive, but I just want to get past that all, y'know, and realize that I'm helping another human get through some really tough stuff." Leon replied.  
"I know. You're a cop, you're used to saving people. But me…I'm just used to reviewing files, and saving myself. And unfortunately, that's how I think now. About me, because if I thought about something else back then," Jill finished her statement by trailing her forefinger across her neck.  
  
Leon nodded and muttered a "I hear ya". They focused on the movie, now, and didn't say anything until Claire and Chris returned. They poked fun at the movie, at each other, and had a pillow fight before they were ready for bed. "I don't want to get up…" Claire moaned from on top of Chris and Leon.   
"I can't feel my legs." Chris retorted, jerking his knees upwards in an attempt to knock his sister off of him.   
"I haven't seen anything except Leon's back for the past half-hour." Jill added, obviously from behind Leon. Claire was the first to move, rolling onto the floor with a thud. Chris stood up next, and fell right back onto the couch to let the blood return to his legs. Jill attempted to climb out from behind Leon, with no luck, so he scooted forward.  
  
"Hey, here's an idea, why don't you stand up Leon!" Jill asked, trying to shove the man off of the couch.   
"Yeah, that would help…" Leon replied with a playful laugh. Chris narrowed his eyes and pulled Jill up and slung her over his shoulder.   
"There, problem solved." He said, putting Jill on the floor.   
"Aw, we were only having a little fun." Jill pouted. Chris' eyebrow twitched, but he said nothing. Jill and Leon were flirting. Claire had already gone to her room and was probably sound asleep. So Leon got up off the couch awkwardly and gathered the dirty clothes.   
"I'm going to bring these down to the washing machines downstairs." He reported. Jill nodded, and she and Chris started to pull out the bed.   
"You staying up for awhile?" Chris asked, calmly.  
  
Leon shrugged and nodded. Chris acknowledged his answer, and tucked the sheet under the bed corner. "Ok, I'll be back, then." Leon said, slipping on a pair of slippers. He headed downstairs, not bothering to put a shirt on, and left Chris and Jill to themselves. "So what was that about?" Jill asked, once Leon was gone. "What was what about?" Chris replied, running a hand through his hair.   
  
  
"You know what I mean. That, pulling me off of the couch, ruining our fun?" Jill said, trying to jog his memory.  
"You were flirting, Jill. That's what it was about." Chris said defensively.  
"Flirting? Oh come on, Chris! He likes your sister for Godsakes, I'm not stupid enough to flirt with him!"  
"Sure. I was just being defensive, that's all."  
"Chris…don't be like this." Jill moaned.  
"Like what?"  
"Jealous! You never were like this before, and it doesn't made a difference whether or not we like each other now."  
"What?! Oh please! I'm just making my status known. I don't want Leon hurting my sister, and I don't want him taking you away from me."  
"Chris…"  
  
Jill looked up at him wide-eyed, making Chris feel like shit instantly. "Jill…I'm sorry. I'm sorry, really. Don't hate me." He said meekly. Jill shook her head and put her hand on his cheek.  
"Chris, I can't hate you. But I don't like this side of you. It worries me." She replied. There was a crash that sounded like garbage cans being knocked over from outside. Chris and Jill ran to the window and looked out. "Can you see anything?" Jill asked. Chris shook his head vehemently.   
"Maybe I should go check it out. Leon just went down there." He suggested. "Yeah, you probably should. Be careful." Jill replied. Chris nodded and hurried out of the apartment. Instead of waiting for the elevator, he ran down the steps and tried to find the laundry room.  
  
It was at the end of a hallway. There was a door that led outside, and one of the washing machines was running. Chris went and pushed open the door. It took a minute for him to realize what was going on. A group of thugs were beating on Leon. "Hey..hey! Get away from him!" Chris shouted, running into action. Chris pulled one guy off of Leon and punched him. The guy punched back, not hurting Chris too bad. After another punch and a few kicks, they began to retreat. "We'll be back!" One of them shouted, flipping Chris and Leon off before screeching away in a car. Chris helped Leon up from the floor and grimaced. "What happened?" He asked as Leon wiped his face with the back of his hand.   
"Steve's friends, my guess. I came out here for some fresh air and before I knew it I was on the pavement." He replied, wincing as he held his head.  
  
"You okay? I mean, nothing's broken right?" Chris asked as they journeyed back upstairs.  
"Not that I can feel. My head's pounding and my ribs hurt. But I don't think anything is really serious." Leon replied, stepping onto the elevator.  
"Yeah, that's good. We should get you cleaned up and checked out though."  
"What, you mean like at a hospital?"  
"If you want. But it could probably wait til the morning. But what ever you want."  
  
  
The elevator stopped and they proceeded into Leon's apartment. Jill looked up from the bed and her eyes widened. "Oh my God! What happened!?" She exclaimed, jumping up. Leon waved his hand and staggered into the bathroom.   
"Nothing, nothing. I'm fine." He excused, examining his injuries. Jill and Chris followed him.   
"It sure doesn't look like nothing." Jill continued.  
  
"A couple of Steve's friends ganged up on him. Nothing but a bunch of pussies, sorry, Jill." Chris replied, looking at the woman briefly.  
"What assholes. Are you both okay?" Jill asked worriedly. She touched Chris' cheek gently, but he still winced and jerked his head back.  
"Let me get you guys some ice." She continued, disappearing into the kitchen.  
"Thanks for saving my ass, man. I didn't have the strength or desire to fight back." Leon said gratefully.  
"Hey, it's no problem. I know you would do the same for me. And besides, I'm one step closer to kicking Steve's ass." Chris replied angrily.  
"Fucking prick. How is it that these a-holes aren't in jail?! I've seen them twice, I can pick them out of a line up…tch, they probably don't bother anyone else. Only the ones that fuck around with their home-boys."  
"Yeah, you're right."  
"I should go after them. Find out what they know. Or at least arrest them for assault."  
  
  
Jill returned with two bags of ice and handed them off. "Here you go. Leon, you need ice trays, or more ice." She reported. Leon nodded and put the bag of ice on his head. "Don't tell Claire about this, it'll probably just upset her." He requested. Chris raised his eyebrows but said nothing. He held the ice against his face and went into the living room.   
"I'm beat, I'm going to bed." He said, flopping onto the bed. Jill helped Leon patch himself up, and then went to sleep too.  
  
  
~^~  
  
  
"Morning, guys. Have you seen Leon?" Claire greeted cheerful. Chris and Jill looked up from their cereal and nodded.   
"I think he was dropping that tape off to his boss or something." Chris replied. Claire stuck her lip out and nodded, before proceeding into the kitchen. "How's Katie doing? You've been neglecting her recently." Chris called.   
  
"I know it's a horrible thing to say, but she's used to it. I barely had time with her before so she's not depressed or anything. And she's used to occupying her time anyway." Claire replied, her voice being muffled briefly as she searched through cabinets.  
"Maybe you should put her in day-care or something so she gets adjusted to being around more kids." Jill suggested. Claire sat down at the table with some baby food and shrugged.   
"She's too young for that. I think a nanny would be more appropriate, but I don't think I can afford it right now." She replied.   
"What about your house? Are you gonna keep it?" Chris asked, milk dribbling down to his chin. Claire shook her head and wiped it clean.   
"I don't know." She replied simply.  
  
Chris got up and brought his bowl to the sink and washed it out. "Well you need somewhere to live. You can't stay here forever you know." He said matter-of-factly.  
"Why not? Did Leon say I can't?" Claire retorted defensively. Chris sighed and dropped his arms to his sides.   
"No, but I think it's a given. He's only being hospitable until you get back on your feet and are ready to get back to the real world. Don't..take that the wrong way."  
  
Claire's eyes flared briefly. "I'm not in a fantasy-world Chris. I'm recovering, okay? And I don't need you bugging me about my life!" she said in a warning tone.  
"Yeah, I know. I've known that forever. But that doesn't mean that one day you'll have to go out there and get a job and get with it again."  
"I know that! I just…I don't want to sell the house, but I don't want to stay there. I had so many ideas on how to fix it up and re-arrange things and stuff. But whenever I go there I just…hate it."  
  
Jill stood up and interrupted them quietly. "We can always change it, Claire. New paint, furniture, things like that. Sometimes you'd be amazed at how different a room can look. I'll help you if you want. I'll contact my boss and ask if I can stay here to investigate into Umbrella's involvement with Steve further, and I can help you redo your house." She offered. Chris frowned. /If she stays here, and I go back, we're not going to see each other for a long time. I wonder if I can stay too../  
  
Claire shrugged weakly and tried to get Katie to finish her last bite of food. "What do you think, Chris?" She asked, looking up at the only person who didn't know what to do.   
"Ah…I don't know. I mean, we don't know if our boss will even let us stay here. An-an-and if he does, how can we guarantee that we'll have time to fix up your house, you know?" He stammered.   
"What do you mean 'we'. You're staying too?" Jill questioned. Chris licked his lips nervously.  
"Well, I…yeah, I mean, she's my sister and I want to help and be around as much as I can. That's probably part of why this was allowed to go on as long as it did." He said quickly.  
  
"Chris, stop blaming yourself." Claire added quietly.  
"But what about the others? They're already buried as it is, now with two men gone? We have to consider them, too." Jill said.  
"I know, Jill, but they'll make do. Besides, we have hardly anyone here in the states. Wouldn't it be a good idea to have some of our best investigators right here, smack dab in the middle of a giant and personal case?"  
"Well, yes, of course, but I don't know how well it'll sit with the boss. He still needs to get that tape, and he's got to get up to speed—"  
  
"So then get him up to speed! E-mail him, let him know that we're sending a tape soon and that a case was dropped into our laps. Just…just say that we're going to stay here and investigate the matter as long as necessary."  
"You think that will convince him?" Jill asked questionably.  
"I don't think he's the type of man who would let a potential break in the Umbrella file just walk away." Chris replied intently.  
  
Claire shook her head and smiled. Chris and Jill were so involved with their work. It's hard to believe that they're as young as they are, with no real professional training. The front door opened and closed, and Leon was home. "Hey guys, morning Claire." He greeted, trying to hide his face.   
"Hey Leon…what's the matter? Are you alright?" Claire replied, trying to get a glimpse of his face.   
  
"Yeah, a perp just took some of his anger out on me, that's all. I'm fine." Leon replied quickly, placing 'the tape' on the kitchen table. Jill snatched it up quickly and held it to her chest as if someone would take it first.   
"So we'll discuss this later, after we send this to the boss." She said, tapping the tape with her index finger. Claire went to give Katie a bath, and Jill got to work with the tape.   
"So you think Claire believed me?" Leon asked quietly. Chris shrugged.   
"I don't see why she'd have a reason not to." He replied. Leon nodded in agreement and turned the t.v. on.   
"When are you going back to work?" Chris asked.  
Leon sighed and rubbed his face gingerly. "I don't know man but I really am running out of money and lost time. My boss is trying to be respectful and give me space and everything but I know he wants me to get back to work." He replied.   
"I hear ya man…I hear ya."  
  
  
TBC 


	15. New Horizons 15

New Horizons, XV  
By: Hotaru  
  
Warnings: Steve bashing, strong language, RE: Code Veronica spoilers  
  
~^~  
  
It had been several weeks after the attack, and Jill and Claire were currently re-painting Claire's old living room. "I think we should open some windows. I'm starting to get woozy." Jill remarked, climbing down off of a ladder. "Yeah, that would have been a good idea." Claire replied, jumping off of an old coffee table. They went and un-locked and opened all the windows. "It's really getting chilly out. I wonder how much snow we'll get this year." Claire remarked, shivering slightly.  
  
Jill nodded and they went back to painting. "Hey, you know what we should do? We should all put our handprints on the wall, like to commemorate this historic event." Claire raised her eyebrows.   
"I don't know if I want there to be handprints permanently on my wall…" she said uneasily. Jill pressed her lips together firmly.   
"Ok…" She began, "Why don't we do it on paper? Like poster-board or something, then we can get a nice frame and hang it up?" Claire smiled and nodded.  
  
"That'd be nice. We'll have to wait until the guys get home, and until all this painting is finished." She said.  
"Yeah. We're never all together any more. Damn them for going to work!" Jill replied with a grin.  
"I know. They said they'll be home for dinner tonight, so maybe we can finish up this coat, and then we can run out for some paper and a frame.  
"Alright, that sounds good. Let's finish this up then!"  
  
The two girls got back to work and finished the room in another twenty minutes. They headed out to Michael's and looked around.   
"I wonder how we can make it look nice.." Jill murmured.   
"What about recycled paper? It always has an interesting texture, and faint different colors. We could put our names underneath with a nice ink-pen. I want a red theme to it, since we're painting the room red-ish." Claire said. Jill nodded approvingly, and they nearly pulled out their hair trying to find the right type of paper. But they finally did, picked out a frame and headed home.  
  
"I really didn't think that it would have taken so long. I wouldn't be surprised if the guys were home already!" Jill remarked.  
"I know. Well at least the paint had time to dry. What are we having for dinner?" Claire asked.  
  
Jill shrugged and smiled. When they got home, the windows, which they had closed before they left, were open. "Uh-oh…what's going on?" Claire asked, jumping out of the car before it had even stopped. Jill shrugged and they went to the front door. Claire pushed it open quietly.   
  
"Surprise!!!"   
  
She jumped back at least five feet and drew her gun. Chris and Leon held their hands up defensively, and waiting for her to realize what was going on. "What's this all about?" Claire asked, holstering her gun.   
"What, can't we surprise two young ladies with dinner?" Leon asked rhetorically. Jill smiled and slid her arm around Chris' waist.  
  
"You guys said you wouldn't be home until late tonight. Liars." Claire remarked, stepping inside the house. Leon rolled his eyes and wrapped his arm around Claire's shoulder.   
"Jeez, this is the thanks we get? I guess we ought to just throw that mini-turkey away…" he drawled. Claire's eyes widened.   
"Turkey? You guys cooked a turkey?! When the hell did you get back?" she exclaimed. Leon chuckled slightly.  
  
"We were here before you were gone. We both took off early to cook the turkey so it would be done soon after you got back. Actually, Jill put it in the oven this morning, and made sure you guys painted to mask the smell." Chris answered, as the quartet walked into the kitchen. Claire put the bag from Michael's on the counter and sat in a chair.   
"What'dja get?" Leon asked, peeking into the bag.   
"Stuff for an idea Jill had. We're all going to put our handprints on this paper, and then we can write our names underneath and put the completion date. And we can put it in the frame and hang it up. Cool, huh?" Claire replied. Chris shook his head and pulled open the oven to check on the turkey. "Basting time!" He announced.  
  
Claire yawned tiredly. "You want to paint another coat or wait until tomorrow?" She asked Jill. Shrugging slightly, Jill yawned too.   
"Uh…I guess we can wait until tomorrow. Give the house a chance to air out completely." She answered finally. Claire nodded and stood up.   
"I'm going to take a shower now. I'm covered in paint and it's starting to itch." She announced, heading up the stairs.   
"We'll give you a holler when dinner's done." Leon called, sticking his head into the hallway. Claire muttered an "mm-hmm" and continued on her way.  
  
~^~  
  
It wasn't until Chris, Leon and Jill had all plated their food that Claire finally came back down. "Hey, yo, what's the deal?" Chris asked as she sauntered into the kitchen. She grinned at Chris' childhood expression.   
"Sorry, you know I like long showers." She replied, forking some food onto her plate.   
"We slaved in the kitchen all day and this is the thanks we get?" Leon sobbed fakely. Claire eyed him and sat down.   
"So how was work, Leon?" She asked, stabbing into a slice of turkey.   
"Alright, I guess. The D.A. still can't reach a verdict on that asshole's case yet." Leon replied, shifting some food around his plate.   
  
Jill frowned slightly and Chris raised his eyebrows at her. "Why not? Is there something wrong with the details or something?" Claire asked normally. Leon sighed and scooped some corn onto his fork.   
"I have no clue. They're being pretty reluctant with giving me information, and I guess it's understandable but I hate being left in the dark."   
"It's probably because you're personally involved with the case and everything. I'm sure things will work out." Claire replied reassuringly.  
"Yeah, I hope so. But actually, there was a big break in the case we've been working on, that family homicide? Turns out that some neighborhood kid was trying to rip the place off, so he was climbing in the air vents when some mob guys came in and whacked the family. He's scared out of his mind but we've got him in protective custody. We're hoping to find out where these mobsters are so we can take them in."  
"Wow, Leon, that's great. Poor kid, though." Jill remarked with a smile.  
"Yeah, he's pretty shaken. His parents are freaking out, not having their kid at home, and being in potential danger. But they're staying with some relatives until everything blows over." Leon said, sticking his fork into the air.  
  
There was a knock on the front door then, and everyone became silent. "What should I do? No one ever comes to visit me.." Claire whispered. Leon, Chris and Jill pulled out their guns. "Go and answer it. We'll be right behind you if anything goes wrong." Leon replied, going over to the door. He stood a few feet to the right, Chris stood on the opposite side, and Jill hung back with her gun hidden behind Claire. Licking her lips nervously, Claire went over to the door. The visitor knocked again, causing everyone to jump. Unlocking the door, Claire pulled it open cautiously. "Delivery for Steve Burnside." The U.P.S. man announced.   
  
Claire sighed deeply and smiled. "I'll sign for it." She said, reaching for the scanner/signature thing. She quickly scribbled her name and took the package inside. "What do you think it is?" She asked.   
"I don't know, but we better open it outside, just in case." Chris said, snatching the package from Claire's hands.  
"Well it ain't gonna help if it's a bomb and you shake it all up." Claire retorted, following her brother through the back door.  
  
It was Chris who slit through the packaging tape with an exacto knife, while the others stood a few yards back. "We have bubble wrap." Chris announced, cautiously unfolding the bubble wrap. Claire sighed slightly. "It's…a couple syringes, some bottles and what seems to be an instruction book. I think we've hit gold!!" Chris called, waving everyone over. Jill arrived first and slid to the floor, reaching for the file.   
"This is it, my big break. I'm finally going to get in with the boss, and finally I won't be in debt!" she said breathlessly. Claire and Leon examined the bottles and read the labels.   
"Ok, ok, ok, ok! Listen to this: Mr. Burnside. The bottle labeled 'Rain 405' is the serum for the prior virus. Administer the entire content of the bottle intravenously. Twelve hours after administering 'Rain 405', inject yourself, in the opposite arm with the bottle marked 'Magma 737'. You know how to contact us with any emergencies." Jill looked up and grinned devilishly.  
  
Claire closed her eyes and tightened her grip around her bottle. "Claire, don't. You'll break it!" Jill exclaimed, prying Claire's fingers from the bottle. Chris coughed nervously. "What should we do?" He questioned. Jill put everything back in the box, but continued reading the instruction book.   
"Nothing yet. I'll contact the boss right away, and see what he says. This serum might prove vital in case Umbrella attacks again. As for the virus…I don't know how safe it will be if we send it by air." She said, heading inside Claire's house. Leon looked at Claire and smiled reassuringly. She pouted slightly.   
  
"Don't worry, Clairey. It'll be ok." He said, wrapping his arm around her waist.   
"I wonder why they're still sending this stuff. I guess they weren't told that he was arrested." Claire replied.  
"Could be. I guess he used his one phone call to call one of his buddies."   
"Yeah, he would do something retarded like that." Claire chuckled slightly and leaned against Leon.  
"So what's up with Jill and Chris? Are they like…together now?"  
"I guess so. They're always hanging on each other and stuff."  
  
Currently, Jill and Chris were huddled around the computer, taking turns typing. "Come on Chris, let me do it! I'm faster." Jill complained as Chris shoved her onto the floor.  
"How do you know? Have you taken a typing test recently?" Chris countered.  
"No, but I just know. But you're taking twice as long trying to type and talk to me at the same time so just hurry up."  
  
Chris waved his hand and peered at the screen. "Ok, add what ever you want to the e-mail. Make sure I read it before you send it though, ok?" he said, standing up. Jill grinned and got up from the floor. "  
Thank you darling, be a good boy and finish up your dinner ok?" she said, patting his backside in the direction of the kitchen. Chris blushed and hurried into the kitchen, where Claire and Leon were eating. "So." He said, digging into his cold food.   
  
"So, indeed Christopher." Claire replied.  
"Claireworth." Chris countered with a smile.  
"Wait, 'Claireworth'? What the hell is that? That's not your full name is it?!" Leon interrupted. Claire giggled and covered her mouth to prevent any food from flying across the table.  
"No, it isn't. It's just what we used to do. Chris created a long name for me, so that when I called him Christopher, he could call me something else. It's like an authoritive thing. He actually told me that it was my real name, and I believed it for the longest." Claire answered. Leon sighed and shook his head.  
"Wow, Leon. You're so gullible." Chris said, polishing off a glass of water.  
"Yeah, yeah, so sue me for thinking I could trust someone." Leon said, sniffling.  
  
Claire brought her plate to the sink and washed it off. "So what's the plan for tonight?" She asked, drying her hands on a hand-towel. Chris shrugged and joined her at the sink.   
"Are you guys going to paint some more?" he asked, depositing his plate and fork in the sink.   
"I don't think so. We wanted to let the house air out. Oh! I know, let's play truth or dare!" Jill exclaimed, sliding into the kitchen. Leon's eyes widened worriedly. He just knew Claire was dying to get him to kiss Jill, what a great opportunity.  
"Yes, let's pretend we're all in high school again." Leon moaned.  
"Oh, come on! It'll be fun. Besides, you might get a chance to kiss me, Leon." Claire replied, getting that look in her eyes.  
"But…but…" Leon stuttered.   
  
In the end, the girls won over the guys, and soon they were settled in the living room, with a bottle, and some candles. "Tell me again why we need a bottle." Leon asked, crossing his arms as if protesting the situation.  
"So we decide who gets to ask the question. Taking turns is boring." Jill answered, reaching for the bottle. She gave it a good spin, and it landed on Claire.   
"Ah man! I don't want to go first!" Claire moaned, flopping back on the hardwood floor.  
"Come on, make it something easy." Chris said, trying to hurry up with the torture. Claire sat herself up and looked at her three friends.   
"Hm…who should I pick. Christoff! You look like you're trying to hide, I pick you." She grinned. Chris' eyes widened like dinner plates.   
"Ok, go ahead." He taunted.  
  
"I dare you…to lick the bottom of Jill's foot." Claire dared. Jill erupted into giggles, very unlike herself and pulled her sock off. Chris closed his eyes and sighed deeply.   
"Claire, I'm so getting you back for this." He promised, grabbing Jill's foot. Hesitating momentarily, he stuck his tongue out and ran it across Jill's foot before recoiling back and grimacing.  
  
Jill laughed again, being as ticklish as she was and put her sock back on. "Tasty?" She asked with a grin. Chris snorted, and spun the bottle. It landed on Leon. "Leon…you have an option. Choose, truth or dare." He offered. Leon sighed and licked his lips.   
"Tr…dare."   
  
Chris' eyebrows jerked up slightly. "Ok, I dare you to put on your uniform, and go a few houses down. You'll knock on the door and ask if they called for your escort service. If you fail to fulfill my task, then I'll have you eat a handful of dirt." Claire and Jill fell over laughing, and Leon grumbled the whole way upstairs. They went outside and followed Leon down to the next block.   
"Ok, you have to look the part now." Claire said, unbuttoning a few buttons on his shirt. She ran her fingers through his hair a few times to give it some body and grinned. "Good luck, lover boy." She said, going to hide behind the porch with the others. Leon sighed deeply and went up to the door. He had removed his gun, and anything else a real cop would hold.  
  
Knocking on the door, he made a mental note to kill Chris later. A few minutes later, a man opened the door. "Y..yes, officer, may I help you?" the man said worriedly.  
"Yes, yes you can. I received a call that you needed my services." Leon replied, trying desperately not to laugh.  
"No, we haven't called 911. This must be a mistake." The man said. A woman came to the door and asked what was happening.  
"Ah, you might be more interested in me than this man, miss. Was it you who called for my service?" Leon asked, turning to the woman.  
"We haven't called the police, no. Maybe you're at the wrong house.." The woman replied.  
  
Leon chuckled as stripper-like as he could and tossed his head back. "No, I do believe I'm right, you're just misunderstanding. You called my escort service, no?" The blood drained from the woman's face, and the man grimaced.   
"What is the meaning of this!? Patty, explain yourself!!" He exclaimed.   
"Henry! I didn't call anyone! I was giving the girls a bath, and then I tucked them into bed! How could I have possibly called anyone!" Patty retorted. Leon smiled, as sincerely as he could.   
"Well, golly darn. This is ninety-six, hah. I was looking for sixty-nine. So sorry. See you later sweet-cheeks." He said, turning and sauntering down the stairs. The man and woman could be heard screaming at each other as Leon walked a few feet before falling onto the floor in a fit of laughter. Chris, Claire and Jill ran out of the yard and tackled him.   
"That was brilliant! I can't believe you managed to keep a straight face." Claire exclaimed. Leon climbed up from the floor and pulled the others back towards Claire's house.  
  
"Yeah, me neither. Let's hope they don't call the cops for real." Jill remarked.  
"Wouldn't it be hilarious if Leon showed up?" Chris said, chuckling.  
"That would be cruel, more than anything. Not to say that I wouldn't laugh or anything, cause I would…" Claire added.  
  
TBC 


	16. New Horizons 16

New Horizons, XVI  
By: Hotaru  
  
Warnings: Steve bashing, strong language, RE: Code Veronica spoilers  
  
~^~  
  
"Props to Leon!"  
Blushing profusely, Leon took a swig of beer. "Aw, cut it out you guys. Can't we just keep playing?" he asked.   
"Sure, sure. Your turn to spin the bottle." Chris replied, knowing that Leon had something bad in store for him.  
  
Leon spun the bottle and grinned when it landed on Jill. "Uh-oh…" Jill muttered.  
"Ok. Jill, dearest, it's high time that we have a little fun." Leon drawled.  
"Oh crap. Don't blame me for what Chris did! Please, be merciful!" Jill begged.  
"Sure, it's cool. Just strip down to your underwear and go outside and proclaim that you are, in fact, the Underwear Queen."  
  
Jill's face hardened and she had half a mind to slap Leon. "And what if I don't?" she asked.  
"Well, then…I guess you'd have to make out with Claire…" Leon suggested. Claire swung her foot out and kicked Leon in the side.   
"Leon! Don't be an asshole!" She exclaimed. Leon held his hands up defensively.  
"Hey, it's up to Jill. Unless there are a lot of people outside, no one will know she even went out there. So it's up to her." He replied.  
  
Shaking her head, and muttering angrily, Jill pulled off her socks. Then, she hid behind the couch and got undressed. "No one look, alright? Not until I'm outside, at least." She said. Claire, Leon and an eager Chris scuttled into the kitchen and didn't return to the living room until they heard the front door slam. They went to the windows and peeked past the curtains. Jill walked into the center of the street and held her arms up.  
  
"Citizens of New York! I hereby proclaim my royalty as the Underwear Queen to you! My loyal servants, give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses of underpants yearning to breathe free!" After quoting what was inscripted on the Statue of Liberty, Jill ran inside to a round of applause.   
"Brava! Bra-freaking-va!" Leon exclaimed, clapping his hands together loudly. Jill hastily threw on her clothes and shook her fist at Leon.   
"I don't know how I'll be able to top that." She said. Leon grinned and they all sat back down.  
  
The phone rang then, and Leon hopped up from the floor to get it. "I'll be right back." He announced.   
"So Jill….thongs, huh?" Chris said conversationally. Jill whipped her head to face him.  
"Christopher Redfield. Don't you dare." She warned. Chris grinned and stuck his tongue out at her.  
"Hey guys, I gotta split. There were some important revelations in one of our cases, and my boss wants me at the station, A.S.A.P." Leon interrupted, heading upstairs to his room. Claire frowned and followed him. She stood in the doorway, while he got dressed.   
"So what's up?" She asked. Leon jumped slightly.   
  
"Geez, don't scare me like that!" He said.  
"Sorry. Is this about our case?" Claire replied.  
"I..they really didn't specify."  
"Why do I get the feeling that you're lying to me?"  
"Claire…come on, please don't hassle me. I gotta go."  
  
He brushed past her and grabbed his keys from the kitchen. "I'll be back later. See you guys then." He said, with a wave. Claire glared at the door and huffed back to her room. Jill and Chris eyed each other, and then went in the kitchen to do the dishes.   
  
"Do you think it was something about Steve?" Jill asked.  
"Could be. She seemed pretty upset." Chris replied, reaching for a dishtowel.  
"Well, hopefully it all blows over eventually."  
"Yeah. I really don't want or need Claire going back to how she was when this first happened."  
"Mm-hm. Speaking of which, how did you find out about all that was going on? I mean, before he was finally arrested?"  
"Ah…I think I was visiting for the weekend, and didn't book a hotel or anything, cause I figured I could stay with her and Steve. And it was like, pouring out, freezing rain, and he made me stand there in the rain while he waited for Claire to finish cleaning or something. He didn't tell her I was there, he just left me outside. I went to the window and knocked on it when I saw she was in there."  
"Wow, what an ass."  
  
Chris nodded agreeably. "Tch. And then, he has the fucking nerve to hit her, while I'm outside, looking in. I nearly broke the window, I was so fucking mad. I guess you could say it's good that the front door was locked, or else I would have killed him right then and there." He continued. Jill raised her eyebrows. She never knew Chris to be violent, except of course when fighting for his life.   
"But anyway, after awhile, Claire came to the door. She said that Steve went out through the back door or something. The whole right side of her face was swelling, and there was a bruise there the entire weekend."  
  
Jill shook her head angrily. "That asshole deserves to rot in hell. I better go check if the boss wrote us back yet." She said, drying off her hands on a towel. Chris finished up the rest of the dishes and flopped onto the couch. "Anything?" he asked tiredly.  
"I'm waiting for the page to load. We so need to get a cable modem." Jill replied, tapping her heel impatiently. "Yeah, he did." She said a few moments later. Chris nodded from his position on the couch and waited for her paraphrased explanation.  
  
Licking her lips, Jill got up from her chair and sat by Chris' feet. "So what's up?" Chris asked, cracking an eye open.  
"Well…he was excited, that's for sure. But as for getting the serums and virus back to headquarters, he wants me to take them back myself." Jill replied dumpishly.  
"What?" Chris asked, sitting up, and leaning on his elbows.  
"He said that it's the only safe way to transport them. If I put them in my purse, and get a fake doctors license, then I'll be able to get back to Europe and they'll be confined."  
"But Jill…that means you have to leave. I don't want you to go.." Chris said weakly.  
  
As Jill's head lowered, her hair fell and covered her face. "I don't want to go either, Chris, but we don't really have a choice. This is the life we chose, and this is the life we have to live." She said gently.  
"Any idea when you'll be able to come back?" Chris asked shakily.  
"He didn't say. I can't imagine that it'd be soon. We're already in debt as it is. And all these flights, and trips, and stuff…until we get hard evidence to the proper authorities…I don't know when I'll be back."  
  
Chris reached his arms out and pulled Jill against him. "I'm gonna miss you so much." She said tearfully. They had spent all of their days together, becoming closer and closer, on the brink of a relationship, and now they were being pulled apart.  
"Yeah, I'll miss you too. It's gonna seem so…barren without you here." He replied.  
"You can always come with me..?"  
"I can't. Claire isn't better yet, and it'd just be another notch in our deficit belt."  
"Yeah, I know. I was just being hopeful." Jill admitted.  
  
She clutched Chris' navy tee shirt and sighed deeply. "You know…through all of this, we've grown so close and I feel like I can't go on with out you." She confessed.  
"I know what you mean. We're dependent on each other and now that we won't have each other to depend on, and to talk to, and to just…be there for…" Chris trailed off. Jill nodded and wiped her eyes.   
"I better go pack." She said regretfully. Chris nodded and sat up, watching her burdened form slowly trudge up the stairs.  
  
Jill knocked on Claire's door, and waited for permission to enter. "Hey." Claire greeted, looking up from her desk.  
"Hey." Jill repeated.  
"Is Leon home yet?" Claire asked, going back to what ever she was doing.  
"No. Probably won't be for a while. Anyway…there's something I gotta tell you about."  
"This doesn't sound good."  
"Well, it is and it isn't. Uh…our boss wrote us back about the virus and everything and he said that I'll have to bring it to HQ myself. My flight is tomorrow morning."  
  
Claire looked up from a torn out page from a magazine and sighed. "Yeah, huh?" She said dully.  
"I don't want to go. It's the last thing on my 'To Do' list, but this is a major development, and we haven't had one in the longest. Chris is staying, so don't worry about that, but I have to go." Jill replied, sitting down on Claire's comfortable bed.  
"Yeah, I understand completely. I'm sorry that you and Chris have to be separated after everything. I know you care a lot about each other."  
"Mm-hmm. I'm gonna miss him. And you and Leon too. But I'll be reachable, don't worry. I'm sorry that I can't finish up the living room with you."  
  
Claire chuckled slightly. "Ah, it's ok. I was getting tired of you anyways." She replied with a smile.  
"And I thought I'd never be free of your wrath. But seriously…we should do that project now, while I'm here." Jill replied with a grin.  
"Yeah, probably. Whenever Leon comes back, he can do his print. I wish we could have done it when the house was finished. But God knows which'll come first; you coming back or the house being done."  
  
Jill stood up and gave Claire a hug. "You'll be okay while I'm gone?" she asked. Claire nodded reassuringly.   
"I better go pack." Jill continued, going to the door. Claire sat back down at her desk and sighed.  
"Thanks for taking time for me. No one has done that for me in a really long time. I appreciate it." She said thankfully.  
"No problem at all. I'll see you around, huh?"  
"Yeah, maybe we'll see you off to the airport tomorrow. If the guys get up early that is."  
"That'd be great. Ok, I'll get out of your hair now."  
  
Jill pulled the door closed and sighed. Guilt hung over her like a storm cloud, but the investigating had to be done. She went into her room and started packing what little she had brought with her and purchased along the way. She shivered slightly as she felt someone behind her. "Hey." Chris murmured, running his hands up Jill's arms. She leaned back into him and sighed.  
"Hey." Jill replied as Chris wrapped his arms around her.  
"You depressed?" Chris asked, kissing her neck gently.  
"A little. You?"  
"Of course. But I think we should make this night special."  
"And how do you propose we do that?"  
  
Jill turned around and stared up into Chris' eyes. Rising up onto her toes, she kissed him gently, as Chris' arms started to remove her shirt. Nervously, her hands traveled to his back and began to tug up on his shirt. Breaking the kiss, Chris practically tore his shirt off and threw it to the side. Placing his hands on the side of Jill's face, Chris pulled Jill's lips to his and kissed her passionatly. Moaning slightly, Jill's hands fumbled with Chris's belt and unzipped his jeans.Tugging on Jill's bottom lip with his teeth, he slid his hands into the inside-out sweatpants she wore. After letting his hands rome briefly, he pulled down his own pants hastilly, and Jill did the same. They stood before each other, marveling for a moment.  
  
"Are you uh...sure you want to do this?" Chris asked huskily. Biting her lip, Jill nodded and wrapped one hand around Chris's neck and pulled him close to her. Their tongue's wrestled, while Chris un-hooked Jill's bra. Shaking the straps off her shoulders, Jill pulled the article off and pressed her chest against his. "You're so warm.." She whispered, as their breath mixed in brief pants. Chris's strong arms wrapped around her slim body, and he hugged her tightly. He jumped slightly when he felt her finger's on the waist of his boxers.  
  
She pulled them off painfully slowly, her hands pausing to grope and tickle. Once his boxers had been strewn onto a lamp, Chris layed Jill down onto her bed and kissed her softly. While one hand massaged one of her breasts, the other moved down to her panties, tracing a line across her thighs. Looking up, as if for permission, Chris pulled them off gently, licking his lips in anticipation. Jill pulled Chris's head up to face hers, and kissed him deeply, before wrapping her legs around his backside and pulling him into her.  
  
~^~  
  
"Will you be okay without me?" Chris asked as he held Jill's clotheless body against his.  
"Yeah, probably. I'll make sure I'm always armed, just incase anyone's on to us." Jill replied, smiling as she caught a whiff of Chris' scent.  
"You know I'm gonna worry about you."  
"And I'll worry about you too. You need to take care of your sister, and make some money. I'll come back as soon as I can."  
"I know. I'll miss you baby."  
"I'll miss you more."  
"Promise you'll think about me?"  
"Promise."  
  
TBC  
  
Wow. Graphic. The most I've ever done. *shy shy shy* 


	17. New Horizons 17

New Horizons, XVII  
By: Hotaru  
  
Warnings: Steve bashing, strong language, RE: Code Veronica spoilers  
_word_ means italic. Can't make it italic as a .txt file _  
  
~^~  
  
The next morning, Chris and Claire had cooked up a nice going away breakfast for Jill. Leon was forced into working the graveyard shift at work, so he was still at the station house.  
  
"But you are coming, right?" Claire asked for the hundredth time to Leon on the phone.  
"Yes, Claire, I am coming. I've got one thing to do, and then I'll be on my way. Are we gonna do that hand thing?" Leon asked.  
"When she comes back, and the house is done. It's like a certificate of completion. Alright, breakfast will be done soon, so _please_ be home before it gets cold for once."  
"Yes mother, see you soon."  
"Okay, bye."  
  
Claire hung up the phone and shook around the pan containing the bacon. The oil sizzled and popped, burning her hand. "Son of a bitch! I hate oil!" She hissed, pulling on an oven mitt.  
"No one told you to shake it, Claire." Chris said, plating another batch of eggs.  
"Shush."  
  
Jill slowly came down the stairs, hauling her luggage with a meager smile on her face. "Hey guys. You doing this all for me?" She asked, sliding her purse off of her shoulder and onto the couch. Chris turned and raised his eyebrows at her with a smile. She returned the smile, and headed into the kitchen.  
  
"We couldn't let you get on that plane without a good meal in you. Sit down, it'll be ready soon." Claire said, heading into the bathroom. Chris pulled up a chair and sat down on it backwards.  
"Hey." He said smoothly.  
"Hey yourself." Jill replied.  
"You have a hickey."  
"What?!"  
  
Chris went around the table and tapped a spot right where Jill's shoulder met her neck. "Right there. Want me to make it bigger?" Chris continued, nipping at Jill's neck.  
"Chris! Claire's in the next room!" Jill hissed, trying to squirm out of his grasp.  
"So, the toilet flush'll warn us." Chris said, pulling Jill against him  
  
"OK guys, I'm back. Just wanted some aloe for my…hand." Claire greeted, slowing to a halt as Jill pulled out of Chris' grasp. "Um…am I interrupting?" She questioned, staring accusingly at her older brother.  
"No, Jill's just got a mark on her neck. She thought it might be a spider bite or something. I tried to get a good look at it but she's too damn ticklish." Chris lied, plastering on a fake smile.  
  
Claire raised an eyebrow and shook her head. "What ever you say, Chris. You better not have let my bacon burn." She said, brushing past the two.  
"I turned the burner off, it was already burning before you left, Sara Moulton." Chris teased.  
"Dammit Chris! Don't compare me to a woman who can't even say marinade right!" Claire screamed.  
  
Jill looked at her watch and sighed. "Not to interrupt you two, but my plane leaves in an hour and a half." She said rather loudly to be heard over the sibling's bickering.  
"Shit, ok, um, Leon should be here any minute, so go ahead and start eating." Claire said, quickly making a plate together and placing it in front of Jill.  
  
"Thanks, it looks great." Jill said, grabbing her fork. Chris and Claire soon joined her in eating, and it wasn't until they were all finished that Leon hurried through the door.   
"I'm so sorry Claire! I was heading home when a drive-by happened, and I got stuck handling it. I know I said I'd be here but—" he rushed, before Claire held up her hand.  
"A drive-by? Are you ok? Was anyone hurt?" She asked.  
"Yeah, three gang members were killed, and a stray bullet hit a passer-by but it looks like he's gonna pull through. Not to mention my car was pumped full of fucking lead after I just got it back from the goddamn shop!" Leon exclaimed.  
  
He slumped down at the kitchen table and grabbed a piece of bacon. "This is the worst fucking day I've ever had." He complained, wolfing down the bacon.  
"Can't you be uh…what's the word…compensated?" Claire stammered.  
"I don't know. I was technically off duty, and it was my car, so I have no idea."  
"Aw, Leon, that's horrible." Jill added, going to retrieve her things from the living room.  
  
Grumbling he stood up and grabbed his plate of breakfast. "Yeah. On top of all this, you're leaving!" He continued. Jill smiled and brought her luggage to the door. The serums and virus were in her handbag, which she had to hold at all times. Her fake doctor I.D. was in her wallet, and her ticket was sticking out.  
"When ever you guys are ready." She announced, joining them at the table again. They finished the meal quickly, and after Claire went and grabbed Katie, they headed out to the airport.  
  
Leon, Claire and Katie had gone to look at the gift shops upon Claire's insisting, leaving Chris and Jill sharing a smoothie. "I can't believe you're really going." Chris remarked, looking out the window at the landing strips.  
"Yeah, me neither." Jill replied, not knowing what else to say.  
"Are you sure you'll be okay?"  
"Yeah. I can't carry my gun on board, so I left it in the back of my closet. Hold on to it for me until I get back, ok?"  
"Sure. So who's picking you up when you get to Paris?"  
  
Jill closed her eyes and sighed. "I don't know. They just told me to wait at one of the airport restaurants." She answered a moment later.  
"Which one?" Chris continued, admiring how pretty Jill looked. She was wearing a turquoise Celene skirt, a tight white shirt and a ¾ length tan blazer.  
"Ah…Etoilé Nuit."*  
"I hear they have good food..not that I read up on airport restaurants or anything.."  
"Yeah. Hopefully I can grab some before I get back to work."  
Chris took Jill's hand and rubbed it gently. "Your flight leaves soon." He remarked sadly.  
"Yeah. I guess we should go find Claire and Leon." Jill said, standing up from their table.  
  
They wandered around the airport until they found Leon and Claire moseying along. "There you guys are. I've got to be at the gate in fifteen minutes." Jill exclaimed.  
"We went to where we left you, but you weren't there." Claire replied.  
"Anyway, we better get going." Chris interrupted, taking one of Jill's bags from her.  
  
They headed to the gate, and Claire and Leon said their goodbyes.  
"I'll ah..call you the first chance I get." Jill said shakily  
"You better. I won't stop worrying about you until then." Chris replied, pulling Jill into a hug. "I love you." He whispered.  
  
Jill's eyes widened as Chris tightened his hug. "I'll call you." She said, turning towards the gate and hurrying off. Chris wavered a minute before putting his hand on his forehead. "Come on Chris. We better head back." Claire said, appearing next to her brother.   
  
Nodding in a daze, he followed Claire and Leon out of the airport wondering why Jill didn't share his sentiments. "Chris? Snap out of it." Blinking a few times, Chris looked around to find the voice that has just spoken to him. It was Claire, and she was standing in front of him, walking backwards.   
"What?" He asked.  
"I asked you what you're going to do today." Claire repeated.  
"Oh. I was gonna help you paint and move furniture and stuff, remember?" Chris replied, rubbing his eyes.  
"Really? Great, I could use some help. Hey, are you okay?"  
"No, not really. I'd rather not talk about it."  
"Don't worry, Chris. She'll be back."  
  
Sighing, Chris nodded and climbed into the car. The drive home was quiet; no one spoke or had anything worth saying. Chris mindlessly chewed on his fingernails, hardly feeling it as the car ran over a bump, and he bit his skin.  
"Sorry that I can't help you out, but I'm pretty tired." Leon announced as they arrived at Claire's house.  
"It's okay, Leon. Hey, speaking of which, what happened at work?" Claire asked eagerly.  
  
Leon bit his lip and hurried into the house. Claire sped up and went after him. "Hey, Leon! Cut it out, will ya? What happened?" She called angrily. Chris followed them somberly, until Leon stopped when Claire confronted him in the kitchen.  
"Leon…what happened?" Claire asked again.  
"He's ah…Steve's…most likely going to get probation." Leon said lividly.  
  
Claire collapsed into a chair and put her head on her hands. "I can't believe this. How could this happen?! He made a full confession on tape! I don't understand how something horrible like this could happen." She sobbed, though she didn't cry. Chris tried his best to comfort his sister, and Leon stood there, leaning against the counter awkwardly.  
  
"I'm sorry Claire. It was the D.A.'s decision. He's going to be in jail a maximum of six months, and is gonna be on probation for about three years. There's nothing we could have done." He said guiltily.  
"This…I don't know but it doesn't make any sense to me at all. I…I want to be alone." Claire said, running up to her room.  
  
~^~  
  
Chris knocked on the door to Claire's room. "You okay?" he called, when she didn't answer.  
"What the hell do you think!?" Was his snappy response.  
"Look, Claire, fuck Steve, ok? Fuck him. No one gives a shit about him, you're over it, and we don't have to worry about him for a while. I don't want you to get depressed. You know how upset I am about Jill not being around, and I don't want you to make me feel worse, ok?"  
"I can't. I can't just act like everything's ok. I can't do it. What happens in six months when he gets out? He's going to come here first thing. And what if he tries to set the house on fire, or worse? I can't live like that!" Claire pulled open the door teary-eyed and looked intently at her brother.   
  
"We'll do what we can. We'll put a restraining order on him, and order protection for the first month or whatever that he's out. Look, we can get through this, okay?" Chris said.  
"Sure. And what after that month? What happens when Steve tries to abduct me or Katie? What happens when he attacks me when I'm getting the mail or coming back from food shopping? I can _not_ live like that!"  
"News flash Claire, people live like that every day. People live their lives in fear, they stop going outside, lock themselves in their rooms and shit like that. But you're not like them Claire! You're not weak! If he attacks you, you whip out your gun and shoot until you're empty. What else do you want me to do? Leon said that they're not going to overturn the ruling, and you don't want to move away right?"  
  
Claire shook her head and sat on her bed. "When I left Raccoon City, and Antarctica, I finally felt a sense of security, like I won't have to fear for my life every time I take a nap. Like I won't have to hide in a locker to rest for an hour before I go killing more people. And now this. First Steve abused me, now I feel like he's going to be lurking around every corner. Waiting." Chris nodded and pulled Claire against him.  
"I won't let him hurt you, and neither will Leon. We're all experienced gunmen and have acute hearing. If you let out so much as a whimper, we'll be there. Just…come on, come down and paint with me."  
  
TBC  
  
*Starlit Night 


	18. New Horizons 18

New Horizons, XVIII  
By: Hotaru  
  
Warnings: Steve bashing, strong language, RE: Code Veronica spoilers  
  
~^~  
  
As Leon laid in his bed, tired as he's ever been, he listened to the semi-argument between Claire and Chris. He tried to cover his head with a pillow to muffle the noise, but since Claire's room was right next to his, it didn't really help. He groaned angrily and trudged down to the living room, turned off all the lights and laid on the couch.  
  
He instantly fell asleep but was woken up when the lights were turned back on. "Son of a bitch, what now?!" he exclaimed, sitting up in a huff. Claire and Chris jumped, not knowing he was there.  
  
"Leon, are you ok? Why aren't you in your room?" Chris asked.  
"I'm tired. Very, very tired. It's bright as hell outside, and I finally got my room dark, and you two kept me up. I come down here to try to sleep, and you follow suite. Can I please get some sleep?!" Leon exclaimed.  
"Leon, relax. We're going to paint now, so you can go back to your room and sleep, okay? Just take it easy." Claire said quickly.  
"Thank you!" Leon huffed, trudging back upstairs.  
  
Claire and Chris eyed him before covering everything with sheets. "So how are you doing?" Claire asked, prying open a can of paint.  
"I'm getting along alright, I guess. I uh…told Jill that I loved her.." Chris said slowly.  
"Really!? I just knew you two'd be together! What happened?" Claire exclaimed gleefully.  
"She didn't say it back.."  
"Oh Chris…I'm sure she wanted to. We all know how much Jill cares for you. Don't worry about it, it'll be fine."  
  
Picking up a paintbrush, Chris sighed. "It takes a lot for me to be able to say something like that to someone. And for her to practically ignore me…it hurt a lot Claire. And I'm afraid to talk to her. I mean, what am I gonna say?" he asked shakilly.  
"You can ask her why she didn't say it back, if you can be that forward. But you have to realize that it's a lot for a girl to be told that she's loved by someone. I wouldn't really know how it feels, considering that Ricky Matthews broke my heart a week after he said that to me…but you have to bounce back. Act like…it bothers you, but you're now totally flipping out over it."  
"That punk. You know he jumped me and my friends once."  
"Really? When?"  
  
Chris thought for a minute. "When I was half-way high school I think. He had his older brother with him, and you know how I was back then—"  
"Scrawny." Claire answered.  
"Yeah, I was weak and got the shit kicked out of me. He said it was cause of you."  
"What?!"  
"Yeah. I can't really remember it much. But I remember that at least."  
"Why didn't you ever tell me?"  
"Cause I didn't want to bother you."  
  
Claire gave Chris that look and frowned. "I really wish you would have told me about this. I can't believe he would do that." She remarked, painting the wall slowly.  
"Yeah well, it's no big deal." Chris retorted.  
  
They were silent for the longest until Katie started crying. Claire paused before tossing her paintbrush to the floor. "Claire, what's the matter?" Chris asked, going after his sister. "Claire? Can you answer me please?" he continued.  
"Can you see him in her?" Claire asked.  
"What?"  
"Is she starting to look like Steve or not?"  
"Who, Katie? No…a little bit, but not really."  
"Her hair is getting red, her eyes aren't as wide as they would have been…"  
"So? What's the big deal?"  
  
Claire crossed her arms and looked at the floor, but didn't answer. "I'm gonna go out for a little while to clear my head." She said, picking Katie up from her crib and brushing past Chris.  
"Claire!" Chris exclaimed agrivatedly. He grabbed his sister by the arm as she was about to walk out the door.  
"Let me go, Chris!" Claire screamed, yanking her arm free and slamming the door behind her. /What the hell is the matter now?!/  
  
~^~  
  
Leon groggily slumped down the stairs into the living room, rubbing his face tiredly. "Yo." He greeted to Chris, who was thumbing through a magazine.  
"Hey. Sleep well?" Chris replied.  
"Yeah, I guess so. Where's Claire?"  
"I don't know. She said she was going out to clear her head, but that was a few hours ago."  
"She hasn't called?"  
"Nope."  
"Aren't you worried?"  
"Not really, she can handle herself. Besides, she blew me off before she left."  
"What happened?"  
  
Chris closed the magazine and rolled it up in his hands. "She was just acting really strange. She hesitated to go see Katie when she was crying, and then she kept asking me if she looks like Steve. Then when I asked her what was wrong and what not, she just ignored me." He explained.  
"Oh. She's probably just being obsessive, with him getting probation and all." Leon replied understandably.  
"Yeah, but I think it was more than that. Like…I dunno, she resents Katie or something."  
"Really..?"  
  
Sighing, Chris stood up and streched. "You should try to talk to her whenever she comes back. She won't talk to me, so you might as well give it a shot." He said, heading into the kitchen. Leon pressed his lips together thoughtfully as the phone rang. Chris picked it up.  
  
"Hello?"  
"Hey."  
"Jill!?"  
"Who else would it be? How're you doing?"  
"I'm fine, how was your flight?"  
"Okay, long though. I'm back at HQ now, and the boss is having the virus and serums taken to the lab for analysis."  
"Great. Ok. So how are you?"  
"Alright, I guess. I miss you already."  
"I miss you too, Jill. So how's everything going over there?"  
"A little hectic. Everyone's glad to have me back and..damn, the boss is back. I have to get to a meeting now, so I gotta run."  
"Aw, already? Well, alright. Look, about what happened at the airport—"  
"Don't worry about it Chris. I gotta run, so I'll talk to you as soon as I can. Bye."  
"Yeah..bye."  
  
Grumbling, Chris hung up the phone and raided the fridge. "So how is she?" Leon questioned, grabbing a pack of Pop Tarts from the cabinet.  
"Alright. She's working already. Our boss gets a little eccentric when there's new information and stuff." Chris replied  
"That's cool. It's always great when everyone works together to achieve a common goal, right?"  
"That is so cliché. But yeah, I guess so. It does get intense, and everyone works together. It's great, yeah."  
  
The front door opened and closed, and Chris and Leon eyed Claire who ignored the both of them. "Jeez." Leon muttered, popping a soda open.  
"Like I said, you talk to her. I just don't want to deal with it." Chris replied, sauntering off to his room.  
  
Leon went to Claire's room and watched her for awhile. She was throwing things around, slamming drawers and what not. "Are you okay?" He questioned. Claire's head shot up.  
"How long did you intend on standing there?" She asked.  
"As long as it took for me to get the jist of your mood. Seriously, what's the matter?"  
"I'm just…mad."  
"No shit. Why are you mad?"  
"Because! Steve's getting probation, Katie keeps reminding me of him and I don't know whether I should keep her or not!"  
  
Claire's hand flew up to cover her mouth. Leon's eyes widened. "You what?" he asked incredously.  
"Forget it, just ignore what I said. I don't know what I was thinking." Claire excused, trying to get past Leon. He blocked the doorway however.  
"Claire, this is serious. Are you considering giving Katie up for adoption?" He questioned.  
"Don't look at me like that, Leon."  
"Answer me."  
"Why should I?!"  
"Because when someone asks you a question, they deserve an answer! And you've got to be high or something if you think I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear you."  
"Look, I was considering it for her safety. You heard what Steve said about her, didn't you!? I don't want her to be here if they're going to be after her."  
  
Leon sighed deeply. "Look, I understand Claire. But you have to really consider if this is what you want to do. She's your daughter, your first born. Do you really want to give her up?" he asked, staring into Claire's eyes intently.  
"…yes."  
  
  
TBC 


	19. New Horizons 19

New Horizons, XIX  
By: Hotaru  
  
Warnings: Steve bashing, strong language, RE: Code Veronica spoilers  
  
~^~  
  
Chris sat in the living room, staring at the television. It wasn't on, he was just staring at the warped reflection. Tilting his head back he gulped down the rest of his soda, his nose becoming tickled slightly. Standing up, he tossed his soda can into the garbage, and went into Katie's room. He stood over his niece, who looked incredibly bored, and sighed. She _was_ starting to look like Steve. Picking the small girl up, he went into the living room and turned on the t.v.  
  
"Ooh, look! Hamtaro's on." Chris announced. Making sure no one was around, he sang the Ham-Ham song, while moving Katie's arms around. A little while later, Leon journeyed back downstairs. "Hey. How'd it go?" Chris asked, turning the volume on the t.v. down.  
"Not too well. She wants to put Katie up for adoption." Leon said solemnly.  
"She what!?"  
"I know...she resents Katie for being a 'product' of her and Steve. She said something about her being in danger, since Steve's gonna be out of prison soon. But something tells me that she just doesn't want to deal with any aspect of Steve at all."  
"Wow...did you try to change her mind about it?"  
  
Leon rubbed his eyes and sighed. "No. I didn't know what to say. What could I say?"  
"I have no freaking idea. What do you think you should do?" Chris replied.  
"Wh-I-But...why me? She's your sister."  
"Leon, I'm not stupid, I know what's going on between you two. Don't you think a kid from another 'relationship', if we can even call it that, would interfere?"  
"Are you insinuating that I'd tell her to do it for myself?"  
"No! I'm just saying...it would be easier, right?"  
"Well, yeah. But I'm not too eager about this. Maybe you should talk to her."  
  
Chris pulled Katie off his lap and stretched. "Yeah...then it's your responsibility to sing the Ham-Ham song."  
"The what?" Leon questioned, tilting his head forward.  
"The ending song, just sing it. It's like, two lines long. She likes it." Leon shook his head, and Chris headed upstairs. The door to Claire's room was opened, so he stuck his head inside.  
  
"Yo. What'cha doing?" Chris asked.  
"Just looking over some old photos. Look at this one." Claire replied, holding up a picture of her while she was pregnant, flipping off who ever was holding the camera.* "And don't tell me that I was glowing."  
"You look great, actually."  
"Well, thanks, but you're lying to me. Don't feel obligated to lie."  
  
Grinning, Chris sat next to his sister on the bed. There was a box full of pictures on Claire's lap, and she was currently going through them. "So what are you doing?" Chris asked finally.  
"Oh, nothing really. I assume that Leon told you what we talked about." Chris nodded. "Well, I just felt like making a little scrap book. I've had all the supplies and things saved up since she was born, but I never had the time to actually do it."  
"So you've...decided then?"  
"Yeah. Are you mad?"  
  
Chris put his arm around his sister's shoulder and sighed. "Well...I'm not mad, just frustrated. What ever...caused you to come up with this decision?" he asked.  
"I don't know. Maybe it's just that...all this shit with Steve made me hate even the littlest thing that was related to him. And his daughter...I just don't...I'm not ready to be a good mother yet."  
"Well, Claire, I think you're a year and a half too late on that decision."  
"Don't chastize me, Christopher. I didn't want to have an abortion. But I couldn't really consult anyone, oh like maybe my family, because you, my only brother was off in some foreign country saving the world."  
"So you have more pent up animosity towards me, huh?"  
  
Claire shoved Chris off of her and sighed deeply. "No, Chris. I don't blame you for anything, except being a little...absent while all this was going on. But anyway, I made my decision and I'm gonna stick with it." She replied.  
"Do you love her? Even a little bit?" Chris asked.  
"Yeah. But I hate her at the same time."  
"Maybe...Leon can pull some strings at work to find someone in the city who'll be willing to adopt Katie, so she isn't far."  
  
Nodding, Claire buried her face in her pillow and asked to be left alone. Chris went back downstairs, where Leon was dully singing. "Ya, ya, ya, ya, ya ooh la, la, la. Ya, ya, ya, ya ooh...so how'd it go?" Leon said, jumping as Chris stood, laughing silently.  
"She's made her decision." Chris reported.  
"Oh. Well...you tried, at least."   
"Yeah. There wasn't really any way to change her mind. She's determined."  
"Mm."  
  
So, the two soldiers trained to defend against an assortment of killers, monsters, psycho dogs, and mutated scientists...watched Hamtaro.  
  
~^~  
  
Chris sat in front of Claire's computer, and stared at the screen. The arrow was resting over the 'SEND' button for what seemed like an eternity. It was probably the most heartfelt, honest letter he had ever written. Concealed inside the e-mail was his declaration of love for Jill, his feelings...he had basically poured his heart out. Closing his eyes, he pressed the button.   
  
'Your message has been sent. Return to Inbox?' The screen of death.  
  
Grimacing, Chris smacked the mouse. "Dammit, I wasn't ready yet! You stupid...mouse!"  
  
"Christopher Redfield, what the hell are you doing?"  
  
Turning around, Chris smiled meekly at his sister. The room was dark, except for the light of the computer screen. Claire's hair was a mess, and she held her bathrobe tightly around her body. "I just sent the e-mail that will be the death of me to Jill."  
"What?"  
"It's a full fledged confession basically. And I can't un-mail it. It's there, sitting in her Inbox...itching to be opened. And when she reads it...God, what is she gonna say?"  
"Chris, relax. This is Jill we're talking about! She's been in love with you forever! It'll take her breath away, and maybe she'll rush back here just to see you."  
  
Claire turned the light on, and squinted at it's brightness. After shutting down the computer, Chris flopped onto the couch. "And since when are you up at three in the morning?" Claire asked, shuffling to sit on the arm rest by Chris' head.  
"I couldn't sleep." Chris excused.  
"Why? Cause you told Jill you love her?"  
"Maybe, ok? Why do you have to do this?"  
"Because I need a good laugh. You and Leon are sending me on this guilt trip about Katie, and everyone is so sullen."  
"Sorry, Claire, but...whatever. Just let me go to sleep."  
"Pull the rat out of your ass, Chris."  
"Night."  
  
~^~  
  
The next morning, Leon took Claire and Katie over to the adoption agency to get things worked out. "You're sure about this?" Leon asked as they pulled into the drive. Claire nodded. "One-hundred percent?" Leon continued.  
"Yes, Leon, I'm sure." Claire replied, un-buckling her seat-belt.   
"I just want to make sure that a day from now or a week from now that you don't change your mind."  
"I won't. I know when my mind's made up."  
  
They headed inside, and filled out a bunch of forms before being brought to a room to talk with the supervisor. Leon and Claire remained silent, while Katie tried desperatly to reach the bowl of Hershey's kisses that were on the desk in front of them. A little while later, a woman walked into the room and sat behind the desk. "How can I help you, folks?" She asked.  
"I'm Claire Redfield, and I'd like to give my daughter up for adoption." Claire replied.  
"O...kay. Why would that be?" The woman asked slowly. Leon was about to answer, but Claire interjected.  
"She's the product of rape, and I only took care of her for this long so she's get the appropriate attention and milk and all that." Leon blinked when Claire lied about attention.   
  
They both knew that Katie remained alone, in her room for most of the day.  
  
"Oh. Well, I'm sorry to hear that, Ms. Redfield. Have you filled out our adoption papers?" The woman asked.  
"Yeah. We'd like her to stay within the city so that we can keep in contact with her over the years." Leon replied.   
"Right, well, we'll have to check our databases for someone who's looking to adopt in the city. It may take awhile before she does get adopted but we'll do our best."  
"So what do we do now?" Claire asked.  
"We can take...I'm sorry, what is your daughter's name?" The woman questioned.  
"Katie."  
"Right, we'll take Katie to play with the other kids here, and we'll get her set up. Did you bring all of her belongings?"  
  
Claire nodded. "They're still in the car. Should we bring them in now?" Leon asked.  
"Yes, Mr...?"  
"Kennedy."  
"Mr. Kennedy. What relation are you to Ms. Redfield?" The woman asked, peering over her glasses.  
"He's my boyfriend. Not the father." Claire answer. Leon coughed loudly, and excused it as 'air going down the wrong way'.  
"Oh. Alright, bring in her things around the back through the fence and we'll bring them to her new room."  
  
Claire and Leon stood, after handing Katie over to the woman who looked like a crow. "So I have a new title now." Leon remarked as they arrived at the car.  
"Don't be immature about this, Leon. It's practically true, and she probably would have gotten all pissed if you were 'just a friend'." Claire replied.  
"How you figure?"  
"I don't know. I just did. Now, honey, let's bring these things inside."  
  
Kissing Leon on the cheek, Claire headed inside. Blushing, Leon followed after her. Through the gate, up the steps through a narrow hallway and up a flight of stairs. The room was pretty cramped. There were a lot of cribs, and baby stuff all over the place. It smelled like baby powder. Walking to the opposite end of the room, they put Katie's stuff on the floor and watched her play with the other kids. She didn't really play with them though. She was content to chew on a rubber square while moving a plastic horse around on the floor.   
  
"Alright, then. We're all set. We'll be sure to call you with any news." The Crow interrupted. Claire nodded, and as she followed Leon, she turned back to wave good-bye to her daughter. Katie looked up, the rubber square falling from her mouth. Her eyes began to water, and her face squished up before she began to cry. Claire stopped, and contemplated going back to console her. Leon held her shoulder. "You already made your decision." He said lowly. "This will only hurt the two of you more."  
"But..she's crying for me." Claire whispered.  
  
The Crow picked Katie up, and bounced her around, and hushed her, and dangled a mobile in front of her face. "Come on Claire." Leon said, pulling Claire towards the stairs. Waving one last time, Claire followed Leon outside.  
"What did I just do?" She asked.  
"You did the right thing. For both you and Katie." Leon replied, pulling Claire into a hug.  
"Do you really believe that?"  
  
Leon smiled warmly and wiped Claire's tears away with his thumb. Nodding, he lowered his head and placed his lips against Claire's gently. For only awhile, all the noises became mute, and it just seemed like it was the two of them in the middle of nowhere. Breaking the kiss, Claire buried her face into Leon's shoulder and gripped the back of his hair tightly. "You'll see her again, don't worry." Leon said, kissing Claire's head gently.  
  
~^~  
  
Chris was still sleeping on the couch when they got back. When the front door closed, he jerked awake. "What?" He asked, looking around.  
"We're back, Chris. It's getting late, you should get up." Claire replied.  
"What?"  
"Get up, Chris."  
  
Grumbling, Chris wiped his eyes and yawned. He shuffled upstairs to take a shower. "You hungry?" Leon asked.  
"Sort of. Why?" Claire replied.  
"I was thinking of making my famous BLT's."  
"Famous?"  
"In my house they were!"  
  
Smiling slightly, Claire shrugged. Rummaging in the fridge, Leon pulled out a pack of bacon. "So what are the plans for today, if any?" He asked.  
"Painting. And furniture moving." Claire replied.  
"Where are you gonna move the furniture?"  
"No where. It's just gonna be re-arranged. The bookshelf is gonna be moved over there." Claire said, pointing to the empty wall perpendicular to the t.v. "And the couches are gonna be moved back a little. I don't want anyone going blind by sitting two feet from the t.v."  
  
Nodding, Leon put the bacon in the oven and sat across from Claire. "Why are you staring at me?" She asked.  
"Cause." Leon replied with a grin. "Am I making you uncomfortable?"  
"Just a little. You look like a psycho."  
"Right. Well, you wanna paint while we wait?"  
"Not really. I'm gonna be smelling paint while I eat, and it doesn't sound too apetizing."  
  
Chris jogged down the stairs and practically flew over to the computer. "Chris? What's wrong?" Claire asked.  
"Nothing. I'm just seeing if Jill replied yet." Chris answered.  
"Replied to what?" Leon asked.  
"Chris' confession of love." Claire said with a grin.  
"Don't act as if I didn't know, Claire." Leon replied.  
  
"You knew about his letter?" Claire exclaimed.  
"No, just about him liking her. It's not a big secret you know." Leon replied.  
"I wonder how Chris feels about you two blabbing about his secrets." Chris interrupted, speaking in third person.  
"Sorry, big brother, but it's just hard not to. We have nothing to talk about anymore."  
"Shh! She wrote back!" Chris practically screamed  
  
Claire and Leon flocked over to the computer, as Chris tried to keep them from reading. "Guys! Come on, let me read it first and if it's not too bad, I'll let you guys read it too, okay?" He said, turning the monitor off.  
"Oh fine." Claire said, giving up to go watch t.v.  
  
"What's on?" Leon asked.  
"Um...ooh! Butterflies are Free. I love this movie!" Claire answered.  
"What?"  
"It's good. And you get to see a young Goldie Hawn in her under-bits."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah. I knew you'd be interested in that."  
"Hey, you pointed it out! I would have watched in for the sole reason that you said it was good."  
  
Claire rolled her head to the side and shook her head at Leon's plastered on smile. "You are such a bad actor." She remarked.  
"I do it for the fans." Leon replied, tossing his head back.  
"What? What does that even mean?!"  
  
The two shared a laugh before actually focusing on the movie. "Yo, Chris, can we read it yet?" Leon asked a little while later.  
"Still reading." Chris replied.  
"Jesus, how long is it?" Claire exclaimed.  
"Shush."  
  
TBC  
  
I have no idea how an adoption agency is run, how things go, so...excuse anything that isn't "right". It seems a little rushed, I know, and I'm sorry. T_T  
  
*There's a pic of my Grandma doing this, except she wasn't pregnant or anything. The expression on her face was pretty funny, so I just tossed some real-life aspect into my fic yet again. 


	20. New Horizons 20

New Horizons, XX  
By: Hotaru  
  
Warnings: Steve bashing, strong language, RE: Code Veronica spoilers and Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring spoilers too.  
  
~^~  
  
Cracking his knuckles, Chris read the final line and sighed. "I'm done, you guys." He announced.  
"Finally. Can we read it now?" Claire asked, turning to look over the back of the couch.  
"Yeah, I guess. I'm gonna have something to eat."  
"The bacon's been sitting out on the counter forever. You might want to heat it up if that's what you're gonna have." Leon interrupted as Claire ran over to the computer.  
  
"Thanks." Chris said, heading into the kitchen. Claire and Leon stood over the computer, reading, and "aww"-ing and the likes. Chris sat, eating a sandwich in the kitchen feeling totally embarassed.   
  
"You slept with her!?!" A voice erupted from the living room. Cringing, Chris started a long, slow drink from his cup of water. Claire charged into the kitchen and pointed and accusing finger at her brother. "I can't believe you!" She screamed.  
"Shut up! Do you want the whole neighborhood to hear you!?" Chris hissed.  
"No, but you have some explaining to do, mister." She sat down across from him, and rested her chin on her folded hands. "Well?"  
"Well, what? So I slept with her. Big deal."  
"Yes, big deal indeed. She seemed to enjoy it quite a bit."  
"Good for her. And, how exactly is it any of your business?"  
  
Claire raised her eye brows. "I'm your sister, Chris. You're supposed to tell me these things." She replied.  
"Oh, well, I had no idea I was supposed to inform you of all my sexual encounters." Chris said stoically.  
"Hey, Claire, maybe you ought to leave him alone." Leon interrupted.  
"Aw, but I'm just having some fun." Claire pouted.  
"Speaking of relationships, why don't you tell Chris here what you called me this morning."  
  
Blushing a reddish pink, Claire excused herself and ran away. "What was that all about?" Chris asked.  
"Nothing important. She just called me her boyfriend when dealing with the adoption agency." Leon replied casually.  
"Oh is that so? What'd she say after that?"  
"Nothing really."  
"No?"  
"No."  
"Hm."  
"Yeah."  
  
Eventually, they decided to play Super Smash Brothers Melee, and were battling it out when Claire finally came down. "Were you in hiding all that time?" Chris asked, not looking away from the t.v.  
"No, I took a shower and straightened out my room. Why?" Claire replied.  
"You're not supposed to leave two guys alone for that long. Haven't you seen that episode of The Simpsons where Homer and Mr. Burns make their snowman army after being buried in an avalanche?"   
"Yes, I saw the episode. I just didn't think you guys were that senile."  
"Well, you were wrong." Leon said with a smile, as Kirby was sent flying out of the arena. "I win." he announced.  
  
The three sat in silence for awhile, before Leon voiced his boredom. "Why don't we do something? This is my day off, and I don't want to spend it doing nothing."  
"We can go to the movies." Claire offered. She was doing anything and everything to keep from having the paint and move furniture.  
"To see what?" Chris asked.  
"The Two Towers, genius. It's already been out for a few weeks, and we still haven't seen it."  
"Oh. I didn't realize you didn't get your weekly dose of Legolas recently."  
"Shut up, Chris! You know you think Arwen's hot."  
"Do not!"  
"Why don't we go, then? Call up the theatre to get the times, and go. You two and your constant bickering!" Leon interrupted.  
  
Claire and Chris stiffled their giggles momentarily. "I'm having a hard time keeping a straight face, so I'm gonna go get ready. Make sure that we're not too late for the next showing." Leon said calmly, heading upstairs.  
"I'll call the theatre I guess." Claire said, hopping up from the couch.  
"I'll...stand around and pretend like I'm doing something." Chris replied with a grin.  
"You always were so good at that...alright, the next showing's at one. We can make it if we run...what's that from?"*  
"Uh..."   
  
Leon galloped down the stairs, his hair settling perfectly against his head. "Well?" He questioned.  
"One o'clock. We gotta hurry though." Claire reported.  
"Cool. Wanna bring snacks or anything?"  
"Uh...I guess. There's nothing really to bring, but we've got some soda and stuff. Let me go get a bag. You guys can go head out to the car if you want." Claire said, heading to get an old school bag she used to treasure. Stufing the soda, and some pretzels and crackers with processed cheese in the bag, she ran outside. When the finally got to the theatre, she and Chris hopped out while Leon, and the bag went to find a parking spot. Needless to say, the bag never made it inside the theater.**  
~^~  
  
Later that night, Claire decided to make cookies, and Leon and Chris were left to their own devices. The phone rang after awhile, so Chris went to get it.   
  
"Yeah?"  
"Hey stranger."  
"Jill?"  
"The one and only."  
  
Chris resisted the urge to hop up and down with excitement. "So uh...I take it you read my e-mail."  
"Yeah...I replied to it, but I haven't got anything back yet." Jill answered. Chris thought back a few hours, and realized that once he was finished, he let Claire and Leon read it. Of course, he couldn't tell Jill that.  
"Oh, that's right. I was gonna write back but then Claire needed me or something. Sorry."  
"It's ok. So how are things over there?"  
"Good. We just got back from seeing the Two Towers a little while ago."  
"Aw, was it good?"  
"Awesome. The best movie I've ever seen."  
  
"Really? Wow. I better go see it then. Chris Redfield is not easily impressed." Jill said with a laugh.  
"Yeah. Did you see the first one?" Chris asked.  
"Of course. That's the first time I cried in a movie theatre for a long time."  
"What'd you cry for?"  
"Why do you think!? Gandalf and Boromir died."  
"Oh. Well, whenever you get back here we can go see it again."  
"Really? That'd be nice."  
"So how's work going? Have you guys gotten any results, with the virus or vaccine or anything?"  
"Nothing yet. Tests are still being run to see if the serum can be used for the T- or G-Viruses. They were all pretty worried when I brought the virus in though."  
"Yeah, you didn't have a vaccine for it."  
  
"Speaking of which...Barry mentioned what we're going to do if another package arrives at your house." Jill said slowly. Chris pulled a chair over to the corded phone and sat down.  
"Yeah..what about it?" He asked.  
"Well...we'd need to get it here as fast as possible, in case something went wrong with the virus. And more testing to figure out how to make our own serums--"  
"Jill, get to the point."  
"Right. He wanted to send Rebecca back...instead of me."  
"What?!"  
  
Claire dropped an egg due to Chris' sudden exclamation. Leon appeared from the living room, looking puzzled. Chris waved them away, and tried to focus.  
"That's not fair, Jill. This is _your_ case. You found it, and you should work on it." He said.  
"I know, but since she's the medic...he thinks she should go."  
"Why? Because of protocol? Fuck protocol! What would she do differently than you?"  
"I don't know, Chris, so stop getting so pissed off at me! If you're so upset about this, take it out on Barry, not me!"  
  
Growling, Chris threw the phone to the side, causing Claire to spill flour all over the counter. "Dammit, Chris! What the hell?!" She exclamed, bringing the phone back to the receiver.  
"Nothing." Chris muttered, disappearing to his room. Claire eyed her brother before hanging up the phone. Leon patted her back and stole some cookie dough.  
  
"Don't worry about him. They'll sort things out." He said comfortingly.  
"Yeah. I just wish he would open up a little! I hate being left in the dark." Claire replied.  
"I'm sure he's embarassed to talk to you or something. Don't worry about it."  
"Yeah."  
  
~^~  
  
Chris lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. A cold breeze blew through his window, causing him to shiver. Sighing, he leaned over and to close the window. Glancing outside, he caught a glimpse of someone or something. Peering closer, he realized it was a person. Holding his breath, he moved away from the window and grabbed his gun. He went downstairs, and into the kitchen.  
  
"There's someone out front, I'm gonna go check it out. You guys stay here, but keep your ears open." He said quickly. Claire and Leon eyed each other nervously as he went to the front door. "Be careful!" Claire whispered.  
  
Opening the front door, Chris stepped outside and pretending like he just needed fresh air. His trained eyes scanned the yard; the area by the tree more specifically. Sighing, he walked down the walkway, picked up some garbage from the lawn and slowly made his way toward the tree. "Don't move." He ordered, pulling out his gun. The person's shadow stayed still, arms raised defensivly. "Who are you?" he asked.  
"An old...associate of Mr. Kennedy's. I have a message for him and his girl friend." A woman's voice replied.  
"My sister? What is it you have to say?"  
"Just tell them to be careful. You're getting in way over your heads."  
"What?! What does that mean? Who are you?"  
  
In one fluid, water-like motion, Chris was on the floor. "That doesn't matter..Sayonara." Chris remained on the floor for awhile, before clutching his head. "Son of a bitch.." Sitting up, he coughed and searched around for his gun. He found it at the base of the tree. Standing up shakily, he looked around. The mystery person was no where in sighed. Grumbling, he went inside to an eagerly waiting Claire and Leon.  
  
"Chris? What happened, where'd you go?" Claire asked, running over to her brother.  
"No where. I was out front, by the tree." Chris replied.  
"You're bleeding! What happened!?"  
  
Leon went to get a first aid kit, and Claire led Chris into the kitchen. "This woman...I don't know who she was, I couldn't see her face. But all's she said was to be careful and that we're getting in over our heads. When I asked who she was, she hit me with something." Chris answered.  
"Could it have been someone from Umbrella?" Claire asked nervously.  
"Who's doin' what now?" Leon questioned, finally appearing.  
"Someone told Chris to tell us to be careful, and that we're in over our heads! And then he got hit!" Claire exclaimed.  
"Who was it?" Leon asked.  
"I don't know. I asked, twice, but the second time she hit me. I didn't recognize her voice or anything." Chris replied.  
"Shit. Well it could have been anyone! But if they were from Umbrella, why would they warn us?" Leon questioned.  
  
Claire bit her lip. "Maybe you should call up your friends in Europe and tell them about this, Chris." She said slowly.  
"No." Chris answered defiantly.  
"Chris! Come on, they should know what's going on in case anything happens."  
"Well then you call. I'm pissed off at them."  
"Chris, you know them the best out of all of us. The only person I really know is Jill."  
"Then talk to Jill. What do you want me to say, Claire?"  
  
Sighing, Claire punched his shoulder and went into the kitchen. "You don't get any cookies, then, wiseguy." She called, pulling the tray out of the oven.  
"Whoopty-fucking-do." Chris retorted.  
"Hold still." Leon said, pushing Chris' head forward so he could tend to his wound. "It's a small laceration. I don't think you'll need stitches or anything."  
  
Chris remained still while Leon patched him up, and he then went back to his room to hide.   
  
"Who do you think it could have been?" Claire asked.  
"Hm...it couldn't have been Ada..she died back in Raccoon. What about Birkin's wife?" Leon suggested.  
"She died, too. It couldn't have been Sherry. She's staying with Barry's family, right?" Leon nodded and grabbed a cookie. "Well, we all thought Wesker was dead, and he showed up in Antarctica, so I guess anything's possible."  
"The idea of people coming back from the dead doesn't strike a good chord with me. We can't be certain of anything anymore."  
  
"Well...I guess I should give Jill a call anyway. Maybe she'd be more inclined to come down if she knew this was going on." Claire said, reaching for the phone.  
"You really like picking on each other, don't you?" Leon said with a smirk.  
"Of course, but I'm being serious for once. We don't want to get in over our heads here."  
"What ever you say, dear."  
  
Rolling her eyes, Claire dialed in the number for Jill's place and waited. "I hate international calls." She murmured, waiting for someone to pick up.  
"Hello?" It was a voice Claire didn't recognize.  
"Ah, hi. This is Claire Redfield, Chris' sister? Can you put Jill on the phone, please?"  
"...sure, just a sec." There were muffled voices briefly before Jill finally came on the phone.  
  
"Hey, what's up?" She asked.  
"We've got bad news." Claire answered.  
"Why, what happened?"  
"Chris saw someone outside, and when he went out there, they said to be careful, and that we're getting in over our heads. And then, she hit him."  
"She? Who's she?"  
"The person outside. It was a she."  
"Oh. Is he...okay?"  
"Yeah, he's fine. Well, he's not fine, but in the aspect of getting hit, he is."  
"You just confused the hell out of me."  
  
Sighing, Claire looked into the hall to see if Chris was coming downstairs. "He's upset about something that happened between you two. I wanted him to call, but he refused." She said.  
"Oh...that. Well...what do you want me to do?" Jill asked.  
"I'm not sure. Just talk to everyone over there, and is possible, maybe you _and_ Rebecca could come down..I know Chris would like to see you, despite how he's behaving."  
"He's being an ass and blaming me for something I can do nothing about. But, I'll see what I can do anyway. Let him know that I miss him, and I hope he feels better, okay?"  
"Sure. Give us a call when you work things out, 'kay?"  
"No problem. Talk to you soon."  
  
TBC  
*It's actually from Jurassic Park, and a song called Thunder Road.  
**This happened to us on Thursday, I brought the bag, and left it in the car. I'm not used to carrying a bag, okay!? 


	21. New Horizons 21

New Horizons, XXI  
By: Hotaru  
  
Warnings: Steve bashing, strong language, RE: Code Veronica spoilers  
  
~^~  
  
Claire stood outside her brother's room hesitantly. She had been standing there for awhile now just listening to his movements. First he turned on the radio, scanned a few stations then turned it off with a huff. She heard the bed creak and some sheets ruffle, and it had been silent ever since. Raising her hand, she knocked on the door. "Chris? Can I talk to you?" She asked, tapping her finger on the door handle impatiently.  
"What for?" Chris replied.  
"We need to talk, dear."  
  
With a sigh, Chris got off his bed and unlocked his door. He had changed into his night clothes, and returned to his bed. "Well, what?" He asked, sitting down and staring aggrivatedly at the closets.  
"Chris...what ever happened to my way cool older brother? You could get any girl you wanted back when you were in high school. Now, you're just always fighting with the girl you love. Why?" Claire asked. Chris eyed her briefly. Sure, he was popular in high school, but just because of his looks. And that pleased him back then, being a hormone driven teen anyway. But now, after surviving Umbrella time and time again, he realized that he needs to focus on people as a whole, and that looks weren't everything.  
  
"Isn't there a saying about how even the best couples get into fights or something?" Chris asked.  
"I guess so. But great couples also know how to sort through their problems. They don't run away to their rooms, and wait for the other person to make the first move."   
"The only way we can really talk is through e-mails. And that's so impersonal. I really wanted to talk to her on the phone, but I royally fucked _that_ up. She's not gonna want to talk to me now."  
"That's not true. When we talked on the phone, she told me to tell you that she misses you and hopes your big dopey head feels better. Actually, I added that part about you having a big head...but the rest is true."  
  
Chris smirked at his sister and ran his hands through his hair. "Ah, why do things have to be so damn complicated? Alright...I'll see if we can talk through that private message service that they set up."  
"Yes, you do that. I can't stand to see you like this." Claire remarked, before patting Chris' hair, and leaving.  
  
He came downstairs a little while longer, and went on the computer to instant message Jill. Sighing, Claire sat down on the couch next to Leon and closed her eyes. She felt very sleepy for some reason. "Hey." Leon said, nudging Claire with his knee.  
"What?" Claire asked.  
"Can we talk?" Leon replied, gesturing outside with his eyes. Glancing back at her brother, who seemed engrossed with the computer, she shrugged and nodded.  
  
Leon stood up and went onto the front porch. Claire looked around nervously, crossing her arms over her chest. She didn't want that mystery woman to get her too. "So, ah..what's up?" She asked. Leon leaned against the porch railing and sighed.  
"I just thought I should let you know about something that happened at work. I'm sorry for not telling you sooner, but I've been debating whether or not to tell you in the first place, and I realized that I can't really lie to you." Leon said, rather quickly.  
"Leon, please, you're scaring me. What is it?"  
"Oh, you don't have to be scared, it's just...someone that I work with asked me out, and I didn't give them a definate yes or no answer."  
"Oh! Oh...wh-why not?" Claire asked, her voice shaking. She didn't usually get so worked up over stupid shit like this. But she and Leon have been growing close, and the fact that he didn't say no right off the bat bothered her.  
  
Exhaling a breath he must have been holding, Leon turned to face her, despite it being too dark out to make out much. "I'm sorry, Claire, it was just...a moment of weakness or something! I should have said no, and I'm sorry I didn't, I really am, but I just...shit, I haven't been out with a girl in so long!" He said pleadingly.  
"Well...you could always as me out.." Claire said slowly. To be honest, she was over Steve, and had come to terms that he raped her _again_. She was just afraid to start a relationship with Leon, and then screw up their friendship if anything were to happen.  
"What? But-I..I thought that you--"  
  
Smiling up at him, Claire sauntered towards him. "I think I'm ready to get back on the horse again." She whispered into his ear, making him shiver.  
"Oh..oh! Great then! Maybe tomorrow we could go get lunch or something during my break?" Leon suggested.  
"Sure, that'd be fine. I'm just going to be painting and stuff, so give me a call."  
"Great. Let's get inside, it's freezing out here."  
"You're such a baby."  
  
The two entered the house, startling Chris slightly. "Jesus! I forgot you guys were here." He stated, his hand clutching his shirt.  
"We weren't gone _that_ long, Chris. So I take it you and Jill are finally talking like civilized people?" Claire replied, pulling a comforter off the couch and wrapping it around her body.  
"Yes, we are. What's up with you two?" Chris asked, turning back to the computer.  
"Nothing really. We're gonna have some lunch tomorrow, that's all." Claire replied simply.  
  
Chris turned and raised an inquisitive brow at her. "Oh? So little miss depression is finally okay now?" He asked.  
"Shut up, Chris." Claire spat back.  
"Make me."  
"God, you're such a baby!"  
"And you're not?"  
  
Leon stepped in between the two as if to block the argument. "Stop it, both of you! Why the fuck can't we go one day without a damn argument!?" He exclaimed. Chris glared at Leon, before turning back to the computer to complain to Jill. Claire glared daggers at her brother before storming upstairs. "What, you can't let us have a bit of fun?" Chris asked, not turning around.  
"Fun? That wasn't fun, that was a damn headache!" Leon replied.  
"If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen."  
"How Jill could fall for you is beyond me."  
  
With that, Leon went upstairs. The door to Claire's room was closed, and he didn't feel like suffering her wrath at the time. Instead, he went back downstairs to paint. Looking around, he realized that the can and brushes were missing. He didn't want to bother Chris, but he didn't have anything better to do. "Hey Chris, you know where Claire put all that painting stuff?" He questioned, scratching the back of his head nervously.  
"No..check out in the basement." Chris replied slowly, typing while he talked.  
"Basement? I didn't know there was a basement.." Leon remarked, looking around for a door he somehow missed.  
"The doors are outside on the side of the house. They're easy to miss cause they're surrounded with shrubs and stuff."  
"Oh. Alright, thanks."  
  
Grabbing a coat, Leon headed outside into the darkness. The ground was cold and stiff under his feet. Dry leaves crinkled as he made his way to the side of the house. Cautiously, he looked around the corner just to make sure no one was there. Sighing, he continued around the bend, wondering what he was so worried about. Chris was caught off guard before, that wouldn't happen to anyone else now. Finding the doors, he grimaced when he saw a padlock. "Shit.." He rummaged around in the bushes, looking for a fake rock or something.  
  
Suddenly, something hit him from above. Falling back, he clutched his head, and looked up. "Leon? What are you doing?!" Claire exclaimed, preparing to throw another book down at him.  
"Jesus, Claire! You could have killed me!" Leon exclaimed.  
"I'm sorry I hit you, but all's I heard was something in the bushes. I know the basement door is right there, and so is the spare key. I just grabbed a few books and started throwing them. Are you alright?"  
"Yeah..I'm fine. I guess I should have asked you where your key was first."  
"Yeah, you should have. Come on in, I'll get it for you."  
  
Leon climbed up from the ground and headed around to the front door. Shivering, he looked around the dark neighborhood. It was likely that the mystery woman was still lurking around there. Taking one last look, he went back inside. Claire was waiting in the living room for him, glancing over Chris's shoulder. "What were you out there for, anyway?" Claire asked.  
"Paint." Leon replied, taking the key from her.  
"Oh. You want me to help?"  
"I thought you were too busy sulking."  
  
Claire narrowed her eyes at him playfully, unable to remain mad at that Kennedy grin of his. "Yeah, but I changed my mind. Chris, you still talking to Jill?" She replied.  
"Yeah..why?" Chris replied, half-paying attention.  
"I was just wondering cause we might need to move the computer to paint back there."  
"Oh. Well, paint everywhere else, then I'll see what Jill says."  
"You're so whipped. Alright, Leon, I'll go out there with you."  
  
Pulling her sweater off the hook, she put it on and went outside. "How the hell did it get so cold all of a sudden?" Claire asked, wrapping her arms around her body tightly.  
"Fall is here, winter's coming. That's what happens, dear." Leon replied, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.  
"Jeez, we're so chummy all of a sudden. What next?"  
  
Glancing down at her, he thought about kissing her, but chickened out last second. They arrived at the basement door, and Claire unlocked it. "It's so dark down here, I hate to go down alone." Claire admitted, pushing Leon ahead of her.  
"This reminds me of that scene in Psycho, where the mother is in the basement." Leon said, knowing Claire would playfully swat at him or something.  
"I'm just waiting to hear that music." Claire replied, immitating the screetch of violins, and swinging her arm in a stabbing action.  
"Where's the light, or do the stairs go down forever?"  
"Yeah, when you get to the bottom, there's a lightbulb with a string _right_ in front of you."  
  
Stumbling slightly, Leon reached his arm out and felt around. "Ah, here we go." He announced, yanking down on the string. Light filled the room, and Leon winced, as he was staring right at the lightbulb. "Jesus, it's huge!" Claire put her hands in her back pockets and shrugged.   
"I guess so. It _is_ two floors after all. I've never gone up there, though. I don't trust the floor." Claire said, pointing at the floor above them.  
"Cool, how do you get up there?" Leon asked.  
"There's a ladder in the back. But _please_ don't go up there! If there are spiders and...and nasty stuff up there, and the floor falls, I'll kill you."  
  
Leon grinned mysteriously, making Claire regret telling him how to get up there all together. "Anyway, where's this paint, now?" Leon questioned.  
"Right over there against the wall...see it?" Claire answered, pointing behind him. Leon swiveled around, and went to get the painting supplies.  
"Ah, there we go. Thanks."   
  
Claire shivered, looking around her basement nervously. The lightbulb only illuminated the first ten feet or so, everything else was completely dark. She grabbed Leon's arm as he approached her, and quickly hurried towards the stairs. "Hey, what's the hurry?" Leon questioned, looking behind him to make sure nothing was following them.  
"Nothing, I just get really creeped out down here." Claire replied, pulling the string on the lightbulb, leaving the area in darkness. Charging up the stairs, she breathed a sigh of relief when they reached the top. Leon closed the doors, and locked them, before grinning.  
"I would have figured you'd be at least a little brave goin' through zombie-infested cities, but..I guess I was wrong." He said with a wink.  
"Hey, big spiders? Let 'em come, I can do big. But when they're small, and can get into your clothes with out you realizing it, until you feel something crawling in your shirt and it _totally_ grosses you out? No way."  
  
Leon put the paint supplies on the ground with a mischevious grin on his face. "You mean like...this?" He drawled, reaching his hands under her jacket to tickle her through her t-shirt. Erupting into laughter, Claire squirmed and closed her eyes, trying to push his hands away.  
"Cut it out!" She giggled, beginning to tickle him in an attempt to stop him.  
"No way!" Leon retorted, as they fell onto the floor, laughing like a bunch of school kids. They rolled around for a bit, laughing and tickling each other, until they came to a stop at the neighbors fence.  
  
Claire layed on the cold ground, looking up into Leon's deep blue eyes. Licking her lips, she reached up and pulled his head down to catch his lips with her own. They remained there for awhile, before they broke the kiss to breathe again. Claire blushed, and turned her head to the side, trying not to laugh. Leon climbed off of her and offered his hand. "That was unexpected." He said with a smile. Claire raised her eyebrows, and ran inside, leaving Leon to bring in the painting supplies.  
  
TBC 


	22. New Horizons 22

New Horizons, XXII  
By: Hotaru  
  
Warnings: Steve bashing, strong language, RE: Code Veronica spoilers  
  
~^~  
  
Chris rubbed his eyes, and squinted at the computer screen. He had been talking to Jill for awhile, apologizing for being an ass, and all that.  
  
"So, do you think I should talk to Barry or something?" He typed.  
"About me and Rebecca coming over?...I don't know. I still haven't talked to him about it. I started to, but he wasn't too eager to listen. I think his wife was on the phone for him or something." Jill responded.  
"Oh. Damn. Well, don't know how long we have until this mystery person shows up, if they even do."  
"Why would she show up again?"  
"I don't know. Maybe if she knows that you're back...I don't know."  
"I think Barry's got a few free minutes, so I'm going to go talk to him now."  
"Alright. Just tell him safety in numbers, right?"  
"Sure. I'll be back soon."  
  
Yawning, Chris stretched his arms back. The front door opened, and Claire appeared, her cheeks pink. "Where'd you go?" Chris asked, standing up.  
"I went to get the paint with Leon. Why?" Claire replied, shrugging her coat off.  
"You took awhile. You goin' to bed soon?"  
"Probably. How's Jill?"  
"Fine. She's talking to Barry about coming back with Rebecca."  
"Really?"  
  
The front door opened again, and Leon appeared, with a smile spread across of his face. Chris looked back and forth between the two, before heading to the bathroom. "He's looking at us suspiciously." Claire remarked. Leon shrugged and tossed his coat onto the coach before chasing after Claire upstairs. "Doesn't he have good reason?" He called, as she jumped onto her bed and hid under the covers. Leon tickled her through the blankets, before Claire kicked him in the chest, and he fell onto the floor.  
  
"Leon! Are you okay!?" Claire exclaimed, crawling onto the floor. "Leon..? Can you hear me?" She whispered, bringing her face close to Leon's. His eyes shot open and he rolled Claire onto her back, tickling her again. "Cheater! I thought you were really hurt!" Claire gasped, shoving his hands away from her.  
"I was hurt! But I have a quick recovery rate." Leon said with a sly smile. He grabbed each of her arms, and pinned them onto the floor with a smirk.  
  
Claire bit her lip, and struggled slightly. As she peered at him curiously, Leon leaned down and kissed her with slight force. Groaning lightly, Claire moved her arms out from under his and wrapped them around his neck. Smiling in between kisses, Leon pulled her up from the floor, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He moved towards her bedroom door, and bumped it closed, his fingers fumbling to lock it. Claire's fingers tugged at Leon's shirt, attempting to remove it.   
  
Leon pulled it off with a huff, kissing the woman furiously. He grabbed at her shirt, and pulled it upwards, not caring if it ripped or not. Claire shook her head, once it was removed and grinned as Leon led her over to the bed. They each removed their pants hastilly, before locking lips once again. "Please..don't tell me you're gonna change your mind in a few minutes." Leon panted against Claire's shoulder.  
"Hell no." She breathed, as his hands went to unclasp her bra.  
  
~*~  
  
Chris looked up at the ceiling when he heard thumping. Shuddering, he chose _not_ to go up and see what was going on. Instead, he stared at the computer screen, waiting for Jill to return. Sighing, he looked at his watch. It was close to eleven. "C'mon, Jill...hurry up." He whispered, tapping his finger against the mouse.  
  
"Sorry I took so long!" Jill returned, finally.  
"I was starting to worry, but it's okay. So, what happened?" Chris typed, a little too eagerly.  
"Well, we had a long talk about it, and he actually agreed! Both me and Rebecca are coming back!"  
"That's great! I'm so glad!!"  
"Me too. If you want me to send you some money or something to pay for the tickets, I'll see what I can scrounge up."  
"Oh, no, it's alright. Barry admitted he had a little money in the S.T.A.R.S. piggy bank, or something. I think it has something to do with one of his kids deciding to work for their allowance...something like that."  
"Aren't they too young to be working?"  
"I don't know, I didn't really go too far into it."  
  
Grinning, Chris leaned back in his chair. Upon hearing someone upstairs scream "Oh my God!!", he fell backwards, his head cracking against the floor. "Son of a bitch!!" He screamed, rubbing his head, he grabbed the coat rack, and banged it against the ceiling, hoping they'd get the hint. Grabbing a bag of frozen peas from the freezer, he put it on his head and sat back at the computer.  
  
"So, any idea when you're be coming?" He typed in, thankful that the noise from upstairs has lowered substantially.  
"Soon. He was actually thinking about Carlos coming along, too. But he needs some help there, too." Jill typed back. Chris narrowed his eyes. He was never too fond of that Oliviera. Always smooth talking, making women gasp and shit like that. A thousand women must have his phone number, at least.  
"Yeah, Barry needs some company. Some one has to laugh at his jokes, right?"  
"What's that supposed to mean? You think Carlos has a lame sense of humor?"  
"No, I'm just saying that Barry needs some help up there, that's all. Why are you on the defensive so suddenly?"  
"Because, I don't like it when people pick on my friends."  
  
Biting his lip, Chris refrained from a wiitty response. "Okay, I'm sorry." He typed. "Are you getting packed yet?"  
"Well I haven't really un-packed. I'm just been pulling stuff out of my suitcase whenever I needed it. Rebecca's psyched about seeing you again. I think she still has a crush on you."  
"Better let her know I'm taken."  
"Yeah, I own you now. :p"  
"I'm your bitch. Make sure to pack your whip!"  
"I never leave home without it."  
"Let's get serious now. I can't imagine what they would think if they saw what you're typing."  
"They're helping me."  
"What?!"   
"I'm kidding! God, you're so easy, Redfield."  
"I knew you were only joking. I can see right through you."  
"Like what ya see?"  
"Hm..pink lace?"  
"Ooh, guess again!"  
"Uh...black satin?"  
"Bingo!"  
  
Chuckling, Chris rolled his neck, which was starting to hurt. "Okay, why don't you call us when you know when you'll be leaving so we can meet you at the airport?" He suggested.  
"Sure, I can do that. I mean, if we're going to be spending a couple hundred dollars on plane tickets, I doubt a out-of-country call will really matter." Jill replied.  
"Are you being sarcastic?"  
"No, did it seem that way? Anyway, I better go. There's lots of preparing to do, and Barry wants me to go check up on that virus and serum."  
"Aw, ok. I'll talk to you soon."  
"Right. Bye, Chris. Smootchies!"  
"..right back at ya."  
  
Yawning, he turned the computer off, and shuffled upstairs, glad to hear silence. "I'm going to bed now. Good night." He bellowed down the hall. A minute later, Claire poked her head out of the room. "Night!" She called, before slamming the door shut. Shaking his head, Chris went to his room.  
  
~^~  
  
Leon was up early the next morning, stirring a pot of oatmeal on the stove. "Why are you up so early?" Chris mumbled, falling into a chair.  
"Work. I'm making food, want some?" Leon replied, glancing at his watch.  
"Ah. How's police life treating you?"  
"Alright, I guess. My stupid car is still at the shop to get rid of those bullet holes. I've been car-pooling forever."  
"I thought they made you look rugged." Claire smiled, appearing in a bathrobe and pajamas.  
"It made me look like a bum who can't fix his car." Leon corrected.  
  
Chuckling, Claire sat down at the table, smiling at her brother. "What?" Chris asked irritatedly.  
"Sheesh, what's _your_ problem?" She questioned tucking some hair behind her ear.  
"I'm going to give you three guesses." Chris said, looking to the side. Needless to say, Claire turned red.   
"Chris, it's *not* what you think!" She said quickly.  
"Y-yeah! We were uh..cleaning, and the screaming was due to finding some really...nasty stuff...in there." Leon added, quickly turning back to his pot.  
  
He took it off the stove and spooned it into three bowls. "Do you people take me for some kind of idiot?" Chris asked, crossing his arms.  
"N..o...we just don't want you thinking anything other than what was going on was going on." Claire said, confusing the two guys.  
"Yeah, okay, well enjoy the oatmeal. I gotta run." Leon said nervously.  
"Wait, sit an eat a bowl at least. You _did_ cook it." Claire siad, grabbing his arm.  
  
Chris watched the interaction between the two with a hard stare. "I'll drive you to work, but you _have_ to eat with us." Claire said.  
"A car? You have a car?" Leon questioned.  
"Yeah. It's been in a garage down the street for months. There _is_ a flat tire, and the nuts are rusted on. I couldn't get them off, but if _you_ can, I'd gladly drive you."  
"You see, Claire is like a chipmunk, or a hampster or something. She stores things in odd places and manages to find them whenever they're needed." Chris said with a grin.  
  
Claire narrowed her eyes. "Ha, ha. I'm going to go get changed, now." She sneered, dropping her spoon into her oatmeal with a plop. Leon snickered, and followed her upstairs to get his uniform on. "All you do is bicker. Doesn't it ever get tiring?" He asked. Claire shrugged as she disappeared behind her door.  
"Well when we were kids, it was _so_ irritating having him as a brother. Nothing but fighting. But when it was just the two of us, we had to get used to it. It's fun, now." She answered.  
  
"You're lucky to have siblings. Being an only child is really lonely." Leon said, buttoning up his shirt.  
"Yeah, but you get tons of presents and stuff at Christmas, and birthdays since your parents feel bad about you being alone." Claire countered.  
"They buy you friends, in a way. I remember birthday parties with diesel goodie-bags. The boys got toy cars, and the girls got Barbie's or something. Candy, too. A huge cake, lots of games. It was all fun for me, but now that I realize that they were 'bought', it's really sad."  
  
Claire emerged from her room, donned in a sweater, fleece pants and sneakers. "There, there. You have us, now. You ready to go?" She asked.  
"Yep. Just have to finish eating." Leon replied, following her back downstairs.  
"Snow!" Chris exclaimed, gesturing to the t.v.  
"What?" Claire asked, standing in the doorway to the living room.  
"They're saying there is a slight chance of snow this weekend!" Chris replied.  
"So, big deal."  
"It _is_ a big deal. What if they cancel Jill's flight?"  
  
Leon rolled his eyes, and finished up his oatmeal. "I seriously doubt that it's going to snow _that_ bad this early. We're half-way through fall, and it's just starting to get cold. It ain't gonna be that bad." He said. Chris shook his head, and but the tip of his index finger in his mouth and chewed on his nail.  
"Relax, Chris. Just call her up, and make sure she knows about THE STORM!!!" Claire giggled, ruffling Chris' hair before pulling the front door open.  
  
"See you later, Leon." Chris waved, glaring at the t.v.  
"Later."  
  
When they were outside, Claire grabbed Leon's hand, and swung it between them as they walked. "So you think he knows?" She asked with a giggle.  
"He's not retarted, Claire. I think it's pretty obvious." Leon replied.  
"Well, I don't think he'll have a problem with it. You guys are friends, and it's not like you're 15 or anything."  
"I guess you're right. So what time are we meeting for lunch?"  
  
Leon shrugged. "Twelve, one, what ever." he replied. "I'll call you whenever I get some time."  
"Okay. Here we are." Claire grinned, arriving at a shabby looking garage.  
"Did this come with the house that's a hundred feet away?" Leon asked.  
"Yep. That's why it was a big drug house. It's less suspicious if people are walking down the street, as opposed to walking to and from the garage."  
  
Claire pulled on the door, trying to open it. "Let me give you a hand with that." Leon said, grabbing the handle and pulling upwards.  
"It's opening...keep pulling." Claire breathed.  
"Jesus, did you bolt this to the floor or something?" Leon exhaled, his hand burning from holding the handle so tightly.  
"Maybe. I haven't been here in awhile. This is the old car."  
"Didn't you have your own car?"  
"Yeah, but someone must have stolen it."  
  
Leon nearly let the door go. "Why the hell didn't you report it stolen?!" He exclaimed, finally getting the door open. "Son of a bitch!" He spat, clutching his shoulder. It felt like his arm was ripped out of it's socket.  
"Are you okay?" Claire asked, trying not to laugh.  
"Sure. Let's just change this tire, and get out of here." Leon snorted.  
  
Claire popped the trunk, and pulled out her tire changing equipment and set Leon to work. "Got any WD-40?" Leon asked. Claire looked around, and produced a rusting can.  
"Is _everything_ you own rusting?" Leon asked, spraying the bolts on the tire.  
"Everything metal."  
"Ah, there we go. You should have just used this, they came right off." Leon remarked, removing the tire.  
"I'm sorry I don't have brute-man strength like you do."  
  
Shaking his head, Leon changed the tire as quickly as he could. "You wouldn't happen to have a sink in here, would ya?" He questioned, holding up his blackened hands.  
"Nope. Run to the house, I'll pull the car up front." Claire said, unlocking the car door.  
"Ok." Leon said, turning, and jogging towards the house.  
  
Claire grimaced at the inside of the car. It was pretty dusty, and there had to be nasty creepy-crawlies in there too. "Damn." Claire spat, grabbing a broom and moving it around the inside of the car. The seats were faux leather, so the dust came off easily. Once she had knocked down any dust strings, she climbed into the car and started it up. The radio station was still tuned to the classical station, how she prefered it. Smiling when a version of Pachelbel's Canon with the harp and flute* came on, Claire pulled into the street and drove up to her house and waited for Leon.  
  
TBC  
  
* I love this song, it's on my playlist, and I just finished listening to it when I wrote the over final paragraph thingy. It's such a beautiful song. If only I could find the sheet music!!! 


	23. New Horizons 23

New Horizons, XXIII  
By: Hotaru  
  
Warnings: Steve bashing, strong language, RE: Code Veronica spoilers  
  
~^~  
  
"Claire? Yo, earth to Claire." Leon said, shaking Claire's shoulder.  
"What?" Claire asked, lowering her head from the head rest.  
"Are you okay? You just sorta phased out there." He replied worriedly.  
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I used to listen to this song to get rid of my head aches when I was younger. I haven't heard it in so long, so...anyway, ready to go?" She asked.  
  
Leon nodded, and buckled himself in. "Have any place in mind for lunch?" Claire asked.  
"Yeah, there are some vending machines in the basement." Leon grinned, rolling his head to look at Claire, who was glaring daggers at him. "In case you haven't realized it by now, I was kidding. Where do you wanna go?"  
"Anywhere but vending machines." She answered.  
"Hm..how 'bout Applebee's?"  
"Isn't that a bit expensive for lunch?"  
"Money's no object, babe."  
  
Claire smiled and pinched Leon's cheek. "So, I bet Chris' happy about Jill coming back, huh?" Leon remarked, looking out the window.  
"Yeah. He's been gaga over her _forever_. I'm glad they finally got together. He's too lonely." Claire replied, as they neared the police station.  
"Really? Now that you mention it, I guess he does seem a bit depressed without her."  
"'A bit'?! He's about a foot from sticking his head into the oven now! You haven't known him as long as I have. He's had girlfriends in the past, but none of them have affected him the way Jill has. He's almost a different person."  
"Better, or worse?"  
  
She had to think about that. "I guess better. But she has to be around all the time, or else he goes into ultra-depressed mode, and sits around doing nothing. How many times do I have to mention that I want to paint before he gets off his ass and helps me?" She answered finally.  
"Maybe he doesn't realize you want his help." Leon replied, as Claire pulled in front of the police station.  
"Yeah, he _would_ be that dense. Have a nice day, anyway. I'll talk to you later, right?"  
"I didn't know you wanted help...but yeah, I'll call you later. Gimme kiss."  
  
Claire raised her brows at him as he pulled her, by her chin, towards him, and kissed her. "Alright, I better go." He said, climbing out of the car. Claire smacked his ass right before he slammed the door closed. "Hey, missy, don't get fresh." He warned, before waving, and heading inside. Giggling, Claire watched him walk into the building before driving away, and heading back home.  
  
~^~  
  
"Chris?...Chris?! I'm home, where are you?" Claire called into the house, hanging up her coat. There was no response. Taking a deep breath, she went into the drawer by the computer desk and pulled out her gun. "Chris? Where are you?" She called, listening for movement. A door opened upstairs, and there were loud footsteps. Chris appeared, donning a white towel around his waist; Claire aimed her gun.  
  
"Shit, Claire, put the damn gun down!" Chris exclaimed, jumping back behind the wall.  
"Chris! Jesus fucking Christ, didn't you hear me calling you!?" Claire retorted angrilly.  
"Yeah, didn't you hear me yell back to you?"  
"Obviously not! What the hell is wrong with you?!"  
  
Chris closed his eyes in aggrivation, and held the bridge of his nose. "I was taking a shower. What the hell is wrong with you?" He asked, sitting on the top step, making sure to keep his legs closed. Claire returned her gun to the drawer and sighed. "I don't know." She answered. "I'm just always nervous. I feel like there's someone watching me, _all_ the time. I don't feel safe, even with you and Leon here. Why can't I just go on and live?"  
"Well, Umbrella, for one. Raccoon City, Antarctica...there are dozens of reasons why you can never live a normal life, Claire. But you should be able to live as normal as possible. Maybe it's that mystery chick that has you spooked, or Steve getting out of prison, I don't know. It's probably all normal."  
  
Claire looked up at him. "I don't _feel_ normal." She spat, before storming off into the kitchen. Groaning, Chris stood up and returned to the bathroom.  
  
~^~In Europe~^~  
  
Rebecca Chambers sat on her suitcase, trying to clasp the locks. "Come on..." She grunted.  
"Need a hand with that?" Jill asked, appearing in the door way. Rebecca looked up, smiled, and nodded.  
"Thanks. You all done packing?"  
"Yeah. My suitcase was never really empty to begin with."  
  
After the locks were clasped, Rebecca climbed off her bed and sighed. "Wow. I didn't think I packed _that_ much stuff." She remarked, putting her hands on her hips. "What time does the plane leave, again?" She questioned.  
"Ten-thirty. The guys are going to see us out of here." Jill replied, glancing at her watch.  
"I'm gonna miss it here, as silly as that sounds. I've gotten used to the messes, and being around guys all the time. But then again, I'm really looking forward to seeing Chris again. It seems like it's been ages. How's he doing?" Rebecca asked eagerly.  
  
Jill smiled, although she didn't feel like it. Rebecca had been a little obsessed with Chris, and was devestated when he left to take care of Claire. And now that she was going to him, she was ecstatic. "He's just fine. He's been doing good, taking care of Claire. She's one-hundred percent cured." She replied.  
"Then...why is he still there?" Rebecca asked slowly.  
"Do you expect him to spend every day of his life over here with you? Claire's the only family he's got. Does he need your permission before he wants to see her?" Jill snapped.  
  
Rebecca jumped slightly. "Ah..no..I'm just..happy that I'll get to see him again.." She replied lowly.  
"We slept together, Rebecca, and he told me that he loves me at the airport." Jill blurted. Rebecca's eyebrows jumped and her lip quivered.  
"O-oh. Good for you then." She replied, her voice cracking. "I have to go..get some things. Excuse me." She said, brushing past Jill, hoping that she didn't see her crying. With a sigh, Jill turned around and watched Rebecca stumble down the hall, vainly wiping away her tears, hoping that whoever she passed didn't see them.  
  
"What's up with her?" Asked Carlos Oliviera, a former member of the Umbrella Countermeasure Force.  
"I think I just broke her heart." Jill sighed.  
"You what?"  
"She's had this little school yard crush on Chris for the longest, and I just stomped on all her hopes and dreams with a smutty boot."  
"You're _totally_ confusing me."  
"Her chances of actually ever being with Chris are close to nill, and I rubbed it in her face."  
  
Carlos shook his head. "That was really mean of you. What'd you do it for?" He asked.  
"I didn't mean to be so...mean, but she's just been bugging me, going on and on about Chris. It's so irritating!" Jill replied.  
"She's got a crush, big deal! Why'd you have to make her cry for?"  
"Cause. Chris and I..are sorta..involved."  
"Sorta? Do I gotta squeeze this outta you?"  
  
Jill shook her head. "We're semi-involved, that's all. I didn't want her feelings to get hurt whenever she found out...and stupid me hurt them anyway." She said. Carlos shook his head.  
"Sometimes, chica, I don't get you." He mumbled, continuing on his way. Jill wrinkled her face at him, and then went to her room to get her things. Grabbing her luggage, she headed out to the main hall.  
  
"All ready to go, Jill?" Barry Burton asked, seeming to appear out of no where.  
"Yep. Are you sure you guys are gonna be okay?" Jill replied.  
"Probably. Carlos gets good work done, once he actually _starts_ working..but, we're down three people, so it's gonna be tough. Make sure you call us with any updates. No word about a serum for the virus we got?"  
"Nope. I'm worried that Umbrella has finally found out about Steve's arrest. But...we gotta hope for the best, right?"  
  
Barry nodded, and Rebecca and Carlos appeared. "All set?" Barry asked Rebecca. She nodded, avoiding making eye-contact with anyone. Carlos gave Jill a look, before bringing Rebecca's luggage out to their SUV. Jill tossed her stuff in the back, and was the last person to get into the truck. Rebecca sat on the left, then Carlos, then her. "And, we're off." Barry announced, as he headed to the airport.  
  
"Rebecca, what did that letter from Umbrella say? About the virus, and serum and what not?" Barry asked a short while later. Rebecca rummaged around in her back pack, and produced a photocopy of the letter. "It says that Rain 405 is the serum for the prior virus, and Magma 737 is to be injected twelve hours after Rain 405. It doesn't make any sense. If Rain 405 is the serum, then Steve should be infected with a virus. Shouldn't he be dead?" She questioned.  
"Maybe it wasn't leathal. Maybe this Rain thing was just a cleanser to get rid of whatever shit he was shootin' before. Counter-active measures or whatever." Carlos suggested.  
  
Jill stared mindlessly out the window, half listening to the conversation. "We'll find out soon enough, I guess." She mumbled.  
"I don't like that he's getting out of jail. It's infuriating what he did to Chris's sister...but now we're talking about new viruses with unknown effects, being used on humans that aren't in containment." Barry said in disbelief. Carlos popped a piece of gum into his mouth, and chewed it loudly.  
"Yeah. But when you think about it, when things were contained, it wasn't necessarily safer. Look at Raccoon City, and the mansion and everything. That was all supposed to be contained, and yet all hell broke loose. So what if this asshole is on the loose? It ain't gonna be any worse." He snorted.  
  
~^~  
  
"Ladies, I wish you bon voyage. Call us once you get there, and be safe." Barry said, giving Jill and Rebecca brief hugs. "Thanks Barry. You guys be careful too. Keep your eyes open." Jill replied.  
"My beautiful girls are leaving me! What am I gonna do while you're gone?" Carlos asked with a grin.  
"Look at all your other beautiful girls on the wall?" Jill suggested. "Us being around never stopped you from reading Playboy."  
"Jill, my love, you know me all too well." Carlos joked, wrapping his arm around Jill's neck, pulling her into a brute hug. "Take care back in the states, ah?"  
"Yeah, I will."  
"And Becky. My sweet little Becky." Carlos said, kissing her forehead, and hugging her tightly. "I just get so emotional with goodbyes. Bon noyage, or however you say it."  
  
Rebecca and Jill headed to the terminal, while Carlos and Barry stayed behind, waving. Jill wanted to say something to Rebecca, but she didn't know how. They made their way onto the plane, after giving the flight attendant their tickets. Jill gave Rebecca the window seat, seeing how she just flew to Europe recently. That had been awkward.  
  
"Listen, Rebecca...I'm sorry about being so blunt with you before." Jill said finally as the final people boarded the plane.  
"Yeah. You _were_ blunt." Rebecca replied, looking out the window.  
"I'm sorry. I just...I don't know, maybe I was jealous or maybe I wanted to boast. I'm just...I don't want it to be like this between us. We're friends, and I shouldn't have said that to you...not like that."  
"Yeah..well, I had to find out one way or another."  
"But it shouldn't have been like that. I'm sorry."  
  
Rebecca sighed, and shifted in her seat. "Yeah." She muttered. Jill sighed lowly in aggrivation.  
"What do you want me to say, Bec?" She asked.  
"There is nothing you _can_ say. You ruined everything for me. I knew that there was something between you and Chris, and unspoken bond or something, but to have it pointed out in brutal honesty, and rubbed in my face? Nothing can fix that." Rebecca retorted.  
"I didn't mean to rub it in your face..I just was getting aggrivated with you going on and on--"  
"So you felt it necessary to break my heart? Well congratulations, Jill. Mission successful."  
  
Jill sucked her teeth, and pulled a magazine from the pocket on the seat in front of her. "If you want to leave it that way.." She spat.  
  
~^~  
  
"I'm glad we're finally getting around to doing this." Claire said cheerfully. Chris grumbled an assortment of curses while he unplugged numerous cords behind the computer desk.  
"Yeah, that's cause _you're_ not the one who'll have to plug all this shit back in!" He retorted, yanking on the last cord.  
"Ah, quit yer bitchin'." Claire giggled, moving her paint bucket and brush as Chris moved the desk, and covered with with a sheet.  
"Imagine what Jill is gonna think when she gets here and the room is half red, half blue."  
"You shush. I'll finish it by tonight, if you help me that is."  
"Sure..I have nothing better to do anyway."  
  
Claire smiled sadly at her older brother. "Why don't you be a waiter or something? We need attractive waiters around here." She suggested. Chris looked up at her. "What?" He asked.  
"They can't hire you at the police station, and you're just going to become saggy if you just sit around here. At least if you're a waiter, you'll be moving a lot." Claire replied.  
"Where do you get these ideas?! What are you gonna say next, that I should become a pimp?"  
"Hm, I dunno. You'd have to change your name. But it's a good suggestion; worth looking into."  
  
Chris chose to ignore his sister and her wild giggles. Instead, he grabbed a can of paint and a brush and pried it open. "So." He began, mixing the paint with a wooden stirrer. "So. We really don't have anything to talk about, huh?" Claire remarked.  
"It seems so...while we're on the topic of jobs, why don't you get one? I'm sure you're tired of being cooped up in this house all day." Chris said.  
"Yeah, you're right. I wish I could get out of here for a few hours, but I don't know what I could do."  
"You could be a waitress. We could use pretty waitresses around here."  
"Yeah, I could do that. Ooh! And you know how in movies, people always go to diner's and squeal their secret plans cause they think no one is listening? Well, maybe I'll be an undercover spy disguised as a waitress!"  
  
Chris chuckled. "What ever floats your boat. Hey, you've got paint on your nose." He remarked, dabbing at Claire's nose with his paintbrush. She grinned and painted a beard on his face. "You need a trim buddy." She snorted, turning back to the wall.  
  
"When are you meeting Leon for lunch?" Chris asked a short while later.  
"I don't know. He's going to call." Claire replied, rolling her shoulders.  
"It's nearly one already."  
"Are you saying he forgot? He didn't forget, Chris, he's just busy."  
"I know he's busy. I was just saying..." And with that, the phone rang. "I'll get it." Chris muttered, tossing his paint brush onto a sheet of plastic.  
  
"Hello?" He greeted, leaning against the wall.  
"Hey cowboy." It was Jill.  
"Jill! How are you?" He questioned.  
"I'm fine. Becca's a little..uhm...angry right now, and she was getting on my nerves so I figured I'd call."  
"Oh, what happened?"  
"I'll tell you later. We're on the plane now. It's going to be about three more hours until we get there, but I figured you should know we were on our way."  
"Wow..well, I guess I should let you go. Give us a call when you get to the airport, ok?"  
"Yeah, no problem. See you soon."  
"Right, bye."  
TBC 


	24. New Horizons 24

New Horizons, XXIV  
By: Hotaru  
  
Warnings: I hate Steve, I curse, I have beaten all RE's sans the Gameboy Advance ones, so there will be some spoilers. None for Ø, tho.  
  
~^~  
  
Claire had started to get a little impatient waiting for Leon, so around two thirty, she quit painting, took a shower, and headed to the police station. Chris wondered whether he should give Leon a heads up incase he forgot. But then again, he didn't want to help Leon out. It would be a few more hours until Jill arrived, so he turned the radio up and kept on painting. "Tarzan Boy" came on, and Chris was tempted to sing. Claire always teased him when they were kids, so the only safe place he could sing was the shower.  
  
"..Jungle life, I'm living in the ocean. Native beat that carries on. Burning bright, a fire that blows a signal to the sky. I sit and wonder: does the message get to you? Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh!"  
  
Shaking his head, he went back to painting. He'd never be able to live with himself if Jill, Rebecca, or Leon walked in to see him dancing and singing like a fool.  
  
~^~  
  
Claire pulled into the police station parking lot, and took a deep breath. /He probably just is really busy. He's a detective, and there is crime, and when there is crime, detectives are busy. Yeah...ok./ Sighing, she got out of the car, and headed inside. Walking up to the desk on the first floor, she smiled. "I'm looking for Detective Kennedy." She stated. The man behind the desk nodded upwards.  
  
"Third floor, office is right across from the stairs, you can't miss it." He stated, before picking up a ringing phone. Claire nodded, and jogged up the stairs. She peeked into the office, as if to catch Leon in the act of doing something naughty. But, he was sitting at a desk, hunched over a type writer. Claire stepped into the office and threw a nearby pen at his head.  
  
"Ow! Son of a--Claire? Oh, Claire! I'm sorry!" Leon exclaimed, smacking his forehead. "I was supposed to call you!"  
"Yes, you were. What happened to meeting for lunch?" Claire asked, trying not to be angry.  
"I'd be lying if I told you anything other than it slipped my mind. But I am _so_ sorry. Here, I'll take care of this later, let me go tell my boss where I'm going, and we can get a late lunch." Leon said, closing a folder hastilly, and nearly falling over his chair.  
  
Claire smiled at his clumsiness. /He must have really forgotten/ she mused, as he went into his lieutenant's office. She looked around at the vacant office, wondering where everyone was. "Ok, ready to go?" Leon asked, grabbing his coat and a radio from the wall.  
"Yeah...hey, where is everyone?" Claire asked as they headed outside.  
"Oh, ah, the desk clerk was in the can, and everyone else is on assignment." Leon replied.  
"And why were you just sitting there, then? Why weren't you helping anyone?"  
"I had paperwork to catch up on."  
  
Shrugging, Claire unlocked the car and climbed in. "So, where are you taking me?" Leon asked. "I thought _you_ were treating _me_ to lunch?" Claire replied. Leon grinned.  
"Then why are you in the driver's seat?" He questioned.  
"Good question!"  
  
The two switched places, and Leon drove off. "So, dear, how's the painting?" Leon asked after a few miles of silence.  
"Good. It should be done soon, that is unless Chris quit after I left. But it should be done really soon." Claire replied.  
"That's good. So, what's the deal with Jill, now?"  
"She was on the plane, or something and she'll be here in a few hours."  
"Ah. Is she by herself?"  
"Nope, Rebecca is with her."  
"Who's Rebecca?"  
"She was in the Bravo team, Chris met up with her in the mansion. He helped her escape."  
  
Leon snickered. "What?" Claire asked.  
"Nothing." Leon replied.  
"_What_?"  
"Ah, nothing! What if she likes him, or something?"  
"How do you jump to these conclusions?"  
"I don't know! He saved her, he's her knight in shining armor, and now they're being reunited after however long it's been."  
"Not long."  
"Yeah, well, anyway, we're here." Leon said, pulling into a parking lot.  
  
Claire looked up at the restaurant. It had black tinted windows, and the parking lot was under the restaurant itself. "What is this place?" Claire asked.  
"The Piano Room, I think it's called." Leon replied, climbing out of the car. "Come on." He said, taking her hand, and walking up a ramp that presumably went into the restaurant. Claire could hear faint piano music, as they ramp turned toward a stair case.  
"Should I have dressed up?' She asking, staring at the oriental carpet that laced the floor.  
"Nope, you look beautiful as is." Leon replied, as they finally arrived at the restaurant.  
  
There was a large grand piano in the center, and tables circling around it. The pianoman was playing a sweet song, while a young Asian couple smiled and held hands.* Claire smiled as a waiter led them to a table. The two sat, and watched the pianoman, and the couple, as the woman fingered a diamond ring on her finger. When the final note was played, the patrons applauded, while the couple shared a teary embrace.  
  
"How sweet. Wait, you don't plan on doing this for me, right?" Claire asked, turning to face Leon, who chuckled.  
"No, well, not today at least." He replied. Claire raised her eyebrows at him, and picked up a menu.  
"Jesus, this place is expensive!" Claire hissed.  
"That's ok with me. Get what ever you want." Leon replied.  
"A pound of salmon...Mm. I'll have that."  
  
A waiter approached the table, and Leon whispered something in his ear before ordering a extra-well done steak, and Claire ordered the Teriyaki Salmon. "What'd you tell him?" Claire asked. Leon smirked. "You'll find out soon enough, my sweet." He replied, taking her hands. The piano man returned from a brief intermission, and took a look at the sheet music that was just handed to him.  
  
With his fingers poised over the keys, the piano man began to play. Claire turned and looked at him, as the familiar notes of Pachelbel's Canon rang through the restaurant. She turned back and looked at Leon, who merely smiled. Resisting the urge to cry, Claire turned back and watched the piano man. With tears welling up in her eyes, Claire wiped them away quickly, wondering why Leon went through all this trouble for her. Leon got up from the other side of the table, pulled Claire up, and hugged her tightly.  
  
Closing her eyes, Claire smiled, and the two rocked back and forth as the song slowed, before the piano man completed the song. "Thank you." Claire whispered, burying her face against Leon's neck. "Why did you do this for me?" She asked.  
"Because I love you. And you deserve to know what that feels like."  
"That's sickeningly sweet, you know."  
"Yeah, but you deserve it." Leon replied, fingering a small velvet case in his coat pocket.   
  
*Since it's what I'm listening to now, Mr. Pianoman is playing Automatic by Utada Hikaru, the piano arrangement, obviously.  
Ok. Sorry to cut this ending short, but the fic is so stale (IMO) and I haven't felt like writing in eons. So. Hopefully, I can start the arc to this in a bit, and it won't be nearly as long, so people will stick around to read the rest of it. My apologies. G'day. 


	25. Update Info

On the open ending of New Horizons....

I kind of forgot just how...horribly I ended this one. I mean, I guess people stopped reviewing or something. I do realize that the chapters were too short, and too numerous, so I guess I understand...

Anyhow.....I'm planning a sequel of sorts that takes place some time in the future. I'll fill in the blanks with flashbacks and all that stuff, so hopefully you'll come back to read it! If I get desperate, I'll e-mail you all, and alert you of it's coming. ^_~

Hotaru


End file.
